Buddy Hield brings energy and joy to the Warriors while proudly honoring his roots in the Bahamas

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Buddy Hield hollers through the locker room at Stephen Curry with some good-natured banter or cracks jokes at practice and on the team plane, by all accounts leaving everyone in hysterics.

From the moment Hield joined the Golden State Warriors last summer, he exhibited a tireless training regimen, too — one that has impressed Curry.

“He probably puts more hours in the gym than I think I’ve ever seen anybody,” Curry said.

The two-time NBA MVP is enjoying the high-energy personality, team-first dedication along with his new Warriors backcourt mate's love for his craft.

From Freeport in the Bahamas to the Bay Area, the 32-year-old Hield takes great pride in representing his island nation on the big NBA stage.

“It’s special,” Hield said. “It’s not by chance. I’ve put the work in, for sure. I’m just blessed and honored to be in this position.”

Hield is averaging 12.6 points and shooting nearly 43% from the field with the Warriors, but he also is making his presence felt off the court.

When Hield arrives anywhere with the Warriors, he offers his hellos with that signature smile and instantly lifts the spirits of his new team. It's the kind of joy and focus coach Steve Kerr has long insisted defines the Warriors franchise.

“There is nothing even-keel about him, he is all extreme happy, joy, talking all the time, and you love that energy because he loves the game,” Curry said. “... He does bring joy to the locker room, to the plane. No matter where we’re at, you’re going to hear him and he lifts everybody up because he’s got a great sense of humor and he’s been around the block. The funniest part is you just can’t get him to shut up. So you appreciate everything he brings.”

His teammates call him Buddy Love, Buddy Fresh and Buddy Buckets — the nickname Buddy has been with the shooting guard since just after his birth, as Hield's formal first name is Chavano.

Hield became the 17th player in NBA history to reach 2,000 3-pointers, and he sparks the offense with the way he runs the floor.

“I’ve just got to keep moving and hopefully I’m able to catch some of the greats," Hield said. “I probably won’t be able to catch Steph, but I hope to catch some of the greats and hopefully I can crack top-10, maybe top-five.”

That would be just fine with Kerr.

“We’re at our best when we’re playing fast and with a lot of pace, and that’s what Buddy does really well," Kerr said. “He runs the floor in transition probably better than anybody on our team.”

The Warriors (16-16) have been struggling lately, losing three of their last 10.

But you won't hear complaints from Hield, who has enjoyed an impressive run — from shooting as a youngster on a makeshift hoop that he and his brother Chevez constructed from a milk crate to helping lead Oklahoma to a Final Four in college and now as a journeyman in his ninth NBA season with a fifth different team.

"Where I came from in the Bahamas, I couldn’t write a better script than this, just being down there, shooting on an outside court, building my own court right from a crate. To have 2,000 3s, I know the young kids back home and the people that helped me get to this point will really appreciate that.

"So I’m just blessed to be in this situation.”

Hield landed with Golden State following Klay Thompson’s departure to Dallas, and it's something Bahamas teammate Thompson called “very special.”

"I’m just happy they replaced me with another Bahamian,” he said.

And Thompson certainly realizes what Hield means to the Bahamas and helping build basketball back home.

“Are you kidding me? He’s a legend, especially around Freeport. Buddy gives young men and women hope all over the nation,” Thompson said. “Especially his commitment to the national team, it’s amazing. It’s really cool.”

Hield's shooting has been inconsistent, but the Warriors are seeing everything he brings on and off the court. And that doesn't waver whether he's hitting shots or missing them, or starting or coming off the bench.

"He lifts this team every day when he comes in smiling,” guard Gary Payton II said. “I know that smile travels all the way back to the Bahamas and those kids have the same smile when he’s on the court. ... How he plays and what he does, it’s kind of like a Steph effect over there in the islands. They’re shouting Buddy. We know what he means to this team and what he means to the Bahamas.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield controls the ball during an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans in San Francisco, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

FILE - Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, left, greets Warriors guard Buddy Hield who comes off the court during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings in Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Randall Benton, File)

FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield (7) reacts after making a 3-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

FILE - Golden State Warriors guards Buddy Hield, left, and Stephen Curry (30) celebrate as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) leaves the court during the second half of an NBA basketball game Nov. 10, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings, File)

FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield, left, gestures to the Minnesota Timberwolves' bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)