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Oklahoma Basketball Legend Buddy Hield to Have His Jersey Honored and Raised

The Lloyd Noble Center's ceiling will have a new number hanging on display.
Brady Trantham|
Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield shoots a basket against Oregon Ducks during the second half of the West regional final of the NCAA Tournament at Honda Center.
Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield shoots a basket against Oregon Ducks during the second half of the West regional final of the NCAA Tournament at Honda Center. | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooner basketball great Buddy Hield will have his number 24 jersey hanging in the rafters of the Lloyd Noble Center.

The ceremony will take place prior to the Sooners hosting Texas A&M on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 7:30.

Members of the 2015-16 Final Four team will also be on hand for the ceremony to be honored. The occasion marks the 10-year anniversary of the Sooners run. Oklahoma finished 29-8 and earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament that season.

That year, OU was ranked in the AP top 10 the entire season and spent three weeks in the No. 1 spot and 12 of 20 weeks in the top 3.

As the Wooden Award and Oscar Robertson Award winner, Hield was the only player in NCAA Division I to average at least 25.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game that season. In 37 games, he led the country with 12 performances of 30-plus points and 19 outings of at least 25 points, shooting 50.1% from the field.

His efforts also earned him the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year.

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Hield was a breath of fresh air for college basketball. With the sport mired in the era of one-and-done where freshman phenoms spurn a college career for NBA money, Hield was a four-year player who developed into a super star.

His jump from his freshman season to his senior campaign mirrored OU's team success under then-head coach Lon Kruger. The Sooners enjoyed seasons with wins of 20, 23, 24 and 29 during Hield's career. He also helped lead them to a Sweet 16 appearance where they narrowly lost to Michigan State during the 2014-15 season.

Hield was selected No. 6 overall in the NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. Since then, he has played for the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and currently with the Golden State Warriors. Hield has shot just under 40% from beyond the arc during his NBA career.

In 2021, he became the NBA's fastest player to 1,000 career 3-pointers (350 games), which broke Stephen Curry's former mark at 369 games.

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners
Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield dribbles against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins during the third quarter at Chase Center. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Hield's number will join the list of past OU jerseys honored: Wayman Tisdale, Alvin Adams, Mookie Blaylock, Stacey King and Blake Griffin.

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Brady Trantham
BRADY TRANTHAM

Brady Trantham covered the Oklahoma City Thunder as the lead Thunder Insider from 2018 until 2021 for 107.7 The Franchise. During that time, Trantham also helped the station as a fill-in guest personality and co-hosted Oklahoma Sooner postgame shows. Trantham also covered the Thunder for the Norman Transcript and The Oklahoman on a freelance basis. He received his BA in history from the University of Oklahoma in 2014 and a BS in Sports Casting from Full Sail University in 2023. Trantham also founded and hosts the “Through the Keyhole” podcast, covering Oklahoma Sooners football. He was born in Oklahoma and raised as an Air Force brat all over the world before returning to Norman and setting down roots there.

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