Buddy Hield says he had to 'put on a show' with Kobe in attendance

Buddy Hield had to show off with his childhood idol watching in the stands.

Kobe Bryant looked on as the 22-year-old dropped 37 points, including eight triples, leading No. 2 Oklahoma to a Final Four date after taking down No. 1 Oregon.

"Buddy Buckets" said after the game that he wanted to pay homage to "The Black Mamba."

"I came in paranoid tonight. But when I saw Kobe come in the building, I said man I gotta put on a show," Hield said, according to Jason Horowitz of Westwood One Sports.

Bryant narrowly missed out on Oklahoma's Sweet 16 win over No. 3 Texas A&M, opting instead to watch No. 4 Duke fall to Oregon, but he did get a chance to catch up with Hield in the stands.

After getting acquainted off the court, Hield showed Bryant what he could do on the hardwood. He rained threes, slashed to the hoop, and dropped stepback after stepback to finish with a performance reminiscent of Bryant himself.

After the game wrapped up, Hield continued the mimicry with a positively Bryant-esque quote.

"I missed that free throw, that layup, I could have had 40," Hield said.

Hield's teammates even took to calling him "New Kobe," but he was sure to distance himself from comparisons to the five-time NBA champion.

"I’m not Kobe Bryant and they should not compare me," Hield said. "I’m far away from him. I just make shots. it’s kind of cool, but me and Kobe are in two different classes and I don’t need to be compared to him."