Halo

Buddy Hield was one of the most dynamic scorers in college basketball last year for the Oklahoma Sooners, and he'll hope to have similar success with the New Orleans Pelicans after they made him the No. 6 pick in the 2016 NBA draft Thursday night.

Hield averaged 25.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in his senior year with the Sooners.



ESPN.com's Chad Ford believes he will have an immediate impact in New Orleans:



Hield steadily improved in each of his four years at Oklahoma. His shooting had grown by leaps and bounds by the time he wrapped up his college career:



CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein believes Hield can be an example for future college stars:



Here's a collection of more social media reactions to the selection:







Hield doesn't boast the highest ceiling of any player in this year's draft—at 22 years old, he may not get much better than he is now. In April, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman compared Hield to Bradley Beal and J.J. Redick.

As long as his shooting carries over to the NBA, though, Hield should have a long, productive career in the pros and validate the Pelicans' decision to select him at No. 6 overall.

New Orleans likely views Hield as a replacement for Eric Gordon, who's a free agent this summer. Gordon was a steady scorer when he was healthy, but he missed 37 games last year and 21 games in 2014-15. Between those two seasons, Gordon also cost the Pelicans a little over $30 million, per Spotrac.

Not only will Hield be a more cost-effective starting shooting guard, he can also be one of the New Orleans' cornerstones along with Anthony Davis.

Davis' presence along gives Pelicans fans optimism about the future, and adding Hield sets the franchise up better for the long term.

Read more New Orleans Pelicans news on BleacherReport.com



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