Sunday brought news of the Celtics and Sam Hauser agreeing to a four-year, $45 million contract extension. It's a deal several of his teammates he reached the NBA summit alongside last season took to Instagram to celebrate.
Hauser's extension is a success story for the entire organization. After arriving as an undrafted free agent in 2021, he climbed out of the G League to become a rotation fixture in Boston.
The six-foot-eight sharpshooter knocked down 42.4 percent of the threes he launched last season, which ranks fourth among players with at least 400 attempts, per NBA.com.
His evolution into an effective two-way wing who consistently got the better of opponents trying to challenge his on-ball defense helped the Celtics capture Banner 18.
While countless coaches had a hand in his ascension, one who got to work with him upon Hauser's first signing with Boston got emotional while discussing his contract extension.
"Immense joy because he was my first guy, and it's really cool," said Celtics' assistant coach D.J. MacLeay, the bench boss for Boston's Summer League squad, on the heels of the Sin City's 103-98 loss to the 76ers in their final tilt in Las Vegas.
With Hauser signed for the long term, the reigning NBA champions have eight rotation players from their title team under contract beyond the upcoming season.
