Cavaliers Now

Former Wahoo Sam Hauser Wins NBA Championship With Boston Celtics

Hauser became the sixth former Virginia men's basketball player to win an NBA title

Matt Newton

Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser holds the ball during game three of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center.
Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser holds the ball during game three of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
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Sam Hauser is an NBA Champion.

The former Virginia men's basketball star knocked down a couple of threes and recorded eight points, four rebounds, and an assist to help the Boston Celtics defeat the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 in game 5 on Monday night at TD Garden to capture their record 18th NBA Championship.

Hauser became the sixth former UVA men's basketball player to win an NBA Championship, joining these players:

Wally Walker: 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, 1979 Seattle SuperSonics
Marc Iavaroni: 1983 Philadelphia 76ers
Rick Carlisle: 1986 Boston Celtics (2011 Dallas Mavericks as head coach)
Jeff Lamp: 1988 Los Angeles Lakers
Mamadi Diakite: 2021 Milwaukee Bucks
Sam Hauser: 2024 Boston Celtics

In his third season in the NBA, Hauser averaged 9.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, all career-highs, and shot 42.4% from three on nearly six attempts per game. He played in 79 of the 82 regular season games, including 13 starts. One of those regular season games was particularly memorable, as Hauser hit 10 threes on just 13 field goal attempts in a blowout win over the Wizards in mid-March, becoming the first player in NBA history to make 10 threes while playing fewer than 24 minutes.

Hauser played in every playoff game and scored in double figures three times, including a 17-point game in Boston's series-clinching game 5 win over Miami in the first round and a 14-point showing in game 4 of the NBA Finals in Dallas.

A member of the final class of collegiate transfers who had to sit out a year after transferring under the old NCAA rules, Hauser transferred to UVA from Marquette in 2019, but only played one season as Cavalier. In that one year, Hauser led the ACC in three-point shooting and earned an All-ACC First Team selection, leading the Cavaliers to an ACC regular season title. He then signed with the Celtics as an undrafted free agent in 2021.

Three years later, Sam Hauser is an NBA Champion.

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.