Sam Hoiberg Signs with Phoenix Suns Following NBA Draft

Sam Hoiberg will get his shot at the NBA.

Announced shortly after the conclusion of the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, the former Nebraska guard will continue his basketball career with the Phoenix Suns. The Lincoln Pius X product spent five seasons with the Huskers and earned All-Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors during his senior year.

Hoiberg also helped Nebraska to three consecutive 20-win seasons, including the program's first-ever Sweet 16 appearance. Now, he'll look to bring the same energy, effort, and leadership that made him a fan favorite in Lincoln to the professional ranks.

Here's the latest on Hoiberg's journey to the NBA, from pre-draft workouts to the college production that helped earn him an opportunity with the Suns.

Pre-Draft Workouts

In total, Hoiberg earned pre-draft workouts with five NBA teams: the Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns.

However, with only 60 players selected in the NBA Draft each year, and significantly fewer signing as undrafted free agents afterwards, he was also exploring opportunities in professional leagues overseas.

Now, he'll have the opportunity to prove himself in the best basketball league in the world. Though if he's able to pick up where he left off as a senior, he'll have every chance to stick around.

Hoiberg's Collegiate Career and Accolades

Hoiberg quarterbacked a Nebraska men's basketball team in 2025-26 that took the country by surprise. Before the season, NU was projected to finish 14th in the Big Ten. Instead, the Huskers finished second, trailing only the eventual national championship-winning Michigan Wolverines.

As a senior, Hoiberg earned both All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors. He started all 35 games, averaging 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per contest. After helping lead NU to a 28-7 record, the most wins in program history, Hoiberg also set the school's single-season assist-to-turnover ratio record (3.75-to-1).

The coach's son finishes his career among Nebraska's all-time leaders in both games played (125, tied for 10th) and steals (162, seventh). He'll not only go down as one of the most productive (former) walk-ons in program history, but as one of the most memorable players of the 2000's.

The nation's best resides in Lincoln.

Coach Hoiberg is your Associated Press National Coach of the Year. pic.twitter.com/yY2mtsjs87
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) April 3, 2026

Following in His Father's Footsteps

Before Fred Hoiberg became the 2025-26 AP National Coach of the Year, "The Mayor" spent a decade in the NBA. Selected 52nd overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 1995 NBA Draft, he played four seasons with the franchise before signing with the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg spent another four years in Chicago before finishing his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005.

In total, Hoiberg appeared in 541 NBA games and was a member of three playoff teams. He scored 2,944 career points and led the league in three-point shooting percentage during his final season, connecting on 48.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

At age 33, Hoiberg was forced to medically retire after undergoing open-heart surgery. Since then, he's held front office and head coaching roles with the Timberwolves, Iowa State, the Bulls, and Nebraska. Now, more than three decades after the start of Fred's NBA career, his son will get an opportunity to follow a similar path.

What It Means for Nebraska Basketball

Nebraska men's basketball is coming off a dream season in which it exceeded nearly every expectation it had going in. Now, the Huskers will look to carry that momentum into the 2026-27 campaign.

Replacing four of five starters will be no easy task, and Hoiberg may be the most difficult player to replace. His attitude, effort, and overall intensity were critical to NU's success, and those qualities simply don't grow on trees. Few players, if any, are willing to sacrifice their bodies and do the little things necessary to win as consistently as Hoiberg did.

His signing also gives Nebraska another selling point on the recruiting trail. The Huskers have been trending for several of the nation's top prospects in the 2027 class, and Hoiberg's journey from walk-on to UDFA serves as another example of the development that has taken place under his father's staff. If Nebraska can help a former walk-on secure a professional career, recruits have every reason to believe they can maximize their potential in Lincoln as well.

Phoenix bound | @samhoiberg pic.twitter.com/XoKNlD2iW6
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) June 25, 2026

Nebraska's NBA Pipeline (Under Fred Hoiberg's Staff)

Nebraska has had 15 former players reach the NBA, including two drafted players under Hoiberg's staff. Dalano Banton was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 46th overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. He played one season with the Huskers (2020-21) and played in all 27 games, including 22 starts.

The following season, Bryce McGowens was selected in the second round (40th overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He would eventually be traded to the Charlotte Hornets. In his lone season at Nebraska, McGowens was named the Big Ten Newcomer of the Year and was selected to both the Big Ten All-Freshman and Third-Team All-Big Ten teams.

Other Hoiberg Huskers like Brice Williams and Keisei Tominaga have played in the NBA's G League, but have yet to crack an NBA roster.

Rienk Mast has also signed a UDFA contract with the Indiana Pacers following the 2026 NBA Draft.

Add us as a preferred source on Google