Three years ago, the Boston Celtics gambled on 6-foot-7 forward Sam Hauser, who was not selected out of Virginia. The Hauser family found out that this was a good way to get into the NBA when the Atlanta Hawks took a chance on Hauser on Thursday.
Brad Rowland of Dime on UPROXX reports that Joey Hauser, a product of Michigan State, has signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Atlanta. Hauser, 25, was not selected in the 2023 NBA Draft and instead settled for a spot on the roster of the Ontario Clippers, the Los Angeles Clippers’ G League franchise. In 34 games, he averaged 7.1 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 32.3% from three-point range and 42.4% from the field.
In the Las Vegas Summer League this year, Hauser played for the New Orleans Pelicans most recently. In four games, he averaged three points and 1.5 rebounds on 50% shooting in 13.5 minutes. In his first 2024 Summer League game, Hauser’s greatest performance came on July 12 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he scored seven points in 15 minutes on 3-of-5 shooting. Hauser’s brief tenure on the exhibition circuit provided Atlanta with an opportunity that New Orleans chose not to pursue further.
If anything, Hauser’s elder brother is a live example of what happens when perseverance and patience are rewarded. Sam Hauser played 10 games with Boston’s G League club in the 2021–2022 season before stepping onto the TD Garden court with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Last season, after Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, Hauser’s composure paid him as he emerged victorious. The Celtics signed Hauser to a four-year, $45 million deal extension a little more than a month later.
Atlanta finished the previous season as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, losing in the Play-In Tournament, and ranking sixth in threes made (13.7) per game and 17th in 3-point percentage (36.4%).
