To Golden State Warriors star, Buddy Hield, the Bahamas will always be home. The Freeport native loves everything about his home nation, be it the food, the weather, or the freedom to jump on a jet ski. Hield even discovered his love for basketball at the age of 12 there while playing in a local tournament.

Although the Bahamas has never been known as a basketball powerhouse, it is now making waves in the hooping world and its star Buddy Hield is the reason why. The country just fell one win short of reaching the 2024 Paris Olympics, losing to Spain in July. However, making it to the pre-qualifying tournament was quite monumental enough in its own right.

Hield in a recent episode of “Dubs Talk“ spoke about how it feels to be part of the Caribbean country’s history. The Warriors veteran said, “When you think of Bahamas you don’t think if them qualifying for the Olympics, now you see at them you think they have potential of qualifying.” He also credited the Warriors’ assistant coach and the head of the Bahamas national team, Chris DeMarco. He has led the team to its newfound success alongside his players.

Hield led the team in terms of scoring averaging 19.8 points and considers his head coach, who is just a few years older, as his “big brother.” Hield also stated, “If it wasn’t for Chris, we’d have been 20 years back from who knows where,” suggesting if it wasn’t for Chris the team would be years behind. Interestingly, he also played a big part in bringing Buddy Hield to the Warriors, and it’s quite interesting how that happened.

How Assistant Coach DeMarco helped Kerr recruit Buddy Hield to the Warriors

The departure of Klay Thompson marked the end of one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. The Dubs nation needed a sharpshooter to fill in the gap left by Thompson, and although probably no player alone could do that. Chris DeMarco, an assistant coach of the Warriors and one of Steve Kerr’s confidants, sold Buddy Hield to coach Kerr.

After all, DeMarco is also the Bahamian head coach so Buddy and he have a strong working relationship, which also was a huge reason for Buddy choosing the Dubs over other teams on the table. “He helped me make the decision, making the decision easier,” Hield told CBS Sports in an interview. The latest Warriors addition further added, “But we knew that the system would fit my playing style. I just want to come on here and be loved and everything is starting off the right way. But I gotta stay grinding, stay humble, keep working, and keep playing Warriors basketball.”

Hield agreed to a four-year $37.75 million contract with the Dubs and the move has paid off big time! The Bahamian international has been averaging 14.5 points which is the fourth-highest in the team. He has also been contributing by rebounds averaging 3.5 per game and a good chunk of credit goes to DeMarco for suggesting the team to bring him to San Francisco.