The Splash Brothers may be no more, but a new legend looks to be rising up in its stead.
The Golden State Warriors officially turned the page on the Klay Thompson era this week by completing a sign-and-trade deal for veteran sharpshooter Buddy Hield. With Thompson making his move to the Dallas Mavericks and Hield joining the Warriors, longtime Golden State star Stephen Curry has a brand-new partner in the backcourt.
In the wake of the news, fans immediately christened the Curry-Hield tandem with a tremendous new nickname — The Splash Buddies.
The Splash Buddies. pic.twitter.com/LVoVgD5boq
— StatMuse (@statmuse) July 4, 2024
The Splash buddies are here (via @LegionHoop) pic.twitter.com/bGou6SbKMn
— Overtime (@overtime) July 4, 2024
The Splash Buddies pic.twitter.com/s62pDrrQs3
— Buttcrack Sports (@ButtCrackSports) July 3, 2024
That is a very fitting moniker for the two, even beyond just the name pun. A buddy is more distant than a brother, and Hield is clearly more distant to Curry than Thompson, whom Curry spent 13 years and won four NBA championships with, was.
But Hield is arguably every single bit as good from a three-point shooting standpoint. He was the Three Point Contest champion in 2020 (Curry also won that competition in 2015 and once again in 2021) and is a 40.0 percent career marksman from deep. Hield has also made 1,051 total threes over the last four seasons, which is second in the NBA over that span to (you guessed it) Curry with 1,252.
The Warriors’ split with Thompson has been obviously tough for Curry, who recently posted an emotional public tribute to Thompson. But the hope here is that Curry’s new “Splash Buddy” Hield can help pick him up next season in Thompson’s place.
