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Boston Celtics Picking up Sam Hauser's $2.1 Million Option for 24-25 NBA Season

Matt Newton

Former Virginia basketball star Sam Hauser is set to return to the Boston Celtics next season after the team picked up his $2.1 million option for the 2024-2025 NBA season.
Former Virginia basketball star Sam Hauser is set to return to the Boston Celtics next season after the team picked up his $2.1 million option for the 2024-2025 NBA season. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
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Former Virginia men's basketball star Sam Hauser is set to return to the reigning champion Boston Celtics next season, as the team is expected to pick up Hauser's $2.1 million option for the 2024-2025 NBA season, as reported by Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe on Saturday.

Per Himmelsbach's report, Hauser and the Celtics are expected to negotiate a contract extension in the coming weeks.

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.

Earlier this month, Hauser became the sixth former Virginia men's basketball player to win an NBA Championship, joining Wally Walker (1977 Portland Trail Blazers and 1979 Seattle SuperSonics), Marc Iavaroni (1983 Philadelphia 76ers), Rick Carlisle (1986 Boston Celtics and then 2011 Dallas as head coach), Jeff Lamp (1988 Los Angeles Lakers), and Mamadi Diakite (2021 Milwaukee Bucks).

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. Hauser shot 47.8% from three in the NBA Finals and had more than a few solid defensive plays, proving that he can be a valuable piece of an NBA Championship-winning team.

Hauser is scheduled to earn $2,092,344 in the 2024-2025 NBA season, up from the $1,927,896 he made this past season. In contract extension negotiations, which can begin July 9th, the Celtics could offer Hauser a contract worth up to $78 million over four years, though the final deal will likely fall short of that mark.

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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.