HOUSTON — Oscar Robertson compared Buddy Hield to Steph Curry — and he wasn’t being ironic.
“He has confidence in getting his shot away,” Robertson said here Friday as he presented Hield with the Oscar Roberton Player of the Year Award. “I don’t think any of these players can guard him. Just like Steph Curry, they can’t guard him. They can’t guard Buddy, either. Plus he can go inside and he can rebound. It means a lot also other than being a shot, he’s a great basketball player.”
The 6-foot-4 Hield had lost the AP Player of the Year award by 3 votes on Thursday to Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine.
Hield is projected as the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.
“No matter where he goes, he’s going to make a difference on that team that he goes with,” Robertson said.
Charles Barkley begged to differ with the Hield/Curry comparison: “He can’t shoot like Steph Curry.”
Still, Barkley was high on Hield’s pro potential.
“I think he’s going to be a stud,” he said. “I want to see his true size, but I think he’s going to be the best player in the country this entire year. I was glad to see him win the Player of the Year award…The show he’s put on in this tournament has been quite incredible.”
He added: “I think Buddy Hield’s going to be a terrific pro and he seems like a nice kid.”
Earlier this year, Robertson was perceived as taking shots at Curry in an appearance on The Mike & Mike Show.
“[Curry] has shot well because of what’s going on in basketball today,” he said. “In basketball today, it’s almost like if you can dunk or make a three-point shot, you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread…there have been some great shooters in the past…but here again, when I played…if you shot outside and hit it, the next time I’m going to be up on top of you. I’m going to pressure you with three-quarters, half-court defense. But now they don’t do that. These coaches do not understand the game of basketball, as far as I’m concerned.”
That prompted Warriors coach Steve Kerr to respond.
“Oh I’m sure, yeah,” Kerr said when asked about Robertson’s suggestion that players from the past could contain Curry better than today’s players. “I could have stopped this back in my time. Boy, I would have shut Steph down.”
He added:
“Because athletes, you know, 50 years ago were much bigger, stronger and faster, more finely tuned,” Kerr continued. “So Steph might not have made it in the league.”
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