The Rookie Survey Could Have Insane Pelicans Fans Thinking Buddy Hield Is The Next Steph Curry

We learned from the NBA’s incoming rookie survey that this rookie class is not particularly high on first overall pick Ben Simmons. Of course, in the past, the rookies have not proven themselves to be the most astute of prognosticators, so Simmons shouldn’t get too down on himself. On the other hand, Buddy Hield is probably hoping the rookies are right on the money. They overwhelmingly voted him the best shooter in the class.

Hield, who was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans, picked up 65.7 percent of the votes on the best shooter question, which is almost two-thirds of the people asked. Jamal Murray came in second at a comparatively paltry 20 percent. Hield’s margin of victory in this category was greater than in any other category. His number of votes for this question is the best since Steph Curry got 79 percent of the votes in 2009. The rookies clearly knew what they were talking about there.

This also may help to recontextualize the lack of support for Simmons in the Rookie of the Year question too. There the rookies went with Kris Dunn. Dunn and Hield are two players who spent four years in college, and the same goes for Curry for what it’s worth. Perhaps these rookies are influenced by the experience Dunn and Hield have in comparison to somebody like Simmons. Not that Hield isn’t a fine shooter, of course. He was great in college. The questions around him have always been about the stuff that isn’t shooting, and those questions remain. Jimmer Fredette was thought of as a great shooter in college too. You just never know how things will pan out.

(Via NBA.com)

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