Will illness prevent Kings’ Buddy Hield from breaking Peja Stojakovic’s 3-point record?

From game-winning shots to his triumphant victory in the 3-Point Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend in 2020, Kings guard Buddy Hield has already authored some of the most memorable moments in the team’s recent history. He might have one more in store before the regular season ends and speculation over his future in Sacramento begins again.

Hield recently passed Mitch Richmond for second on the team’s all-time list for 3-point goals. He has a chance to break Peja Stojakovic’s franchise record by season’s end, but the race is too close to call with 18 games remaining.

Hield has 997 3-pointers in 312 games over five seasons with the Kings (22-32) as they prepare to play the Washington Wizards (20-33) on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center. He needs 74 more to surpass Stojakovic, who spent eight seasons in Sacramento, making 1,070 3-pointers in 518 games from 1998-2006.

Based on his current average of 4.0 3-point goals per game, Hield was on pace to break Stojakovic’s record in the final game of the season. That was before he missed Monday’s 117-110 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans due to illness, ending his streak of 272 consecutive games. Hield is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Wizards and the Kings will visit the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, so it’s possible he will miss another game or two.

If Hield is able to play all 18 remaining games, he will be on pace to finish the season with 1,069 3-pointers, which would leave him one short of Stojakovic’s team record. To be even more precise, using Hield’s exact season average of 4.0188 3-point goals per game, he would finish with 1,069.34. If the final tally ends up being that close, Hield might call for a recount.

All this number crunching will be irrelevant if Hield returns next season to smash Stojakovic’s record, but he faces an uncertain fate in Sacramento as Kings general manager Monte McNair retools the roster around De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Hield is in the first year of a four-year, $86 million contract with $20 million more in incentives, but the Kings looked at trade possibilities for months leading up to the NBA trade deadline and will likely do so again in the offseason.

The Kings will ultimately need to clear the way for Haliburton to become a full-time starter. If they can find a good deal for Hield and clear salary cap space in the process, there is a chance he will be traded before the 2020-21 season begins.

Hield already holds the franchise’s single-season record after making 278 3-pointers in 2018-19 to surpass Stojakovic’s mark of 240. Now he has a shot at the franchise record, but it looks like it will be extremely close.

Kings coach Luke Walton was asked about Hield’s prolific 3-point shooting and his assault on the record books prior to Monday’s game against the Pelicans, before Hield was ruled out with an illness sources described as non-COVID-19-related.

“What’s really impressive about Buddy is how much he loves to be in the gym and how much he loves to play basketball and how much he wants to be out there all the time,” Walton said. “He works incredibly hard and — knock on wood — he’s durable. If he’s banged up a little bit, he’s going to still play no matter what, so those are great characteristics and what you want in your players. We’re still continuing to work with him on the type of 3s we want him taking, but he’s very elite at that part of the game.”