UVA Basketball alum Sam Hauser is an NBA champion, after the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 106-88, on Monday.
Hauser had eight points in 17 minutes off the bench in the Game 5 win, shooting 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-6 from three-point range.
In the five-game NBA Finals, Hauser averaged 8.2 points in 15.4 minutes per game, shooting 14-of-28 (50.0 percent) from the floor and 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) from three.
A third-year pro, Hauser averaged a career-high 9.0 points per game in the 2023-2024 season for the Celtics, shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 42.4 percent from three.
Not bad for a guy who was undrafted after his two years at Virginia, a redshirt season in 2019-2020 after transferring from Marquette, and then the COVID-restrictions-limited season in 2020-2021.
Hauser led that talented Virginia team in scoring – that year’s roster included future NBA players Trey Murphy III and Jay Huff – averaging 16.0 points per game, shooting 50.3 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point range.
In three seasons at Marquette, Hauser averaged 12.7 points per game, shooting 47.7 percent from the floor and 44.5 percent from three.