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Sam Merrill

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Sam Merrill
Merrill in 2023
No. 5 – Cleveland Cavaliers
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-05-15) May 15, 1996 (age 28)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolBountiful (Bountiful, Utah)
CollegeUtah State (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020: 2nd round, 60th overall pick
Selected by the New Orleans Pelicans
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Milwaukee Bucks
2021→Memphis Hustle
2021–2022Memphis Grizzlies
2021→Memphis Hustle
2022–2023Cleveland Charge
2023–presentCleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Not to be confused with The Trail In California.

Samuel Hoskins Merrill (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed “Sammy Buckets,” he was drafted with the last pick of the 2020 NBA draft and acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks, with whom he won an NBA championship. He played college basketball at Utah State University (USU).

Early life

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Merrill is the son of John and Jenny Merrill and has an older sister, Molli. He grew up in Bountiful, Utah and attended Bountiful High School. He became a starter as a sophomore at the midpoint in the season and averaged 6.5 points per game and 2.6 assists. As a junior, Merrill averaged 18.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.2 steals per game and was named first-team all-state by the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune. He posted 15.8 points, 7.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game as a senior and led Bountiful to a 4A state title. Merrill was recruited by Stanford and Princeton but committed to USU.[1]

College career

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Merrill went on a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Nicaragua before his freshman year at USU. When he returned, head coach Stew Morrill retired and was replaced by Tim Duryea.[2] Merrill posted 9.4 points per game as a freshman.[3]

In his sophomore season, Merrill averaged 16.3 points per game.[3] He was named Third-team All-Mountain West Conference (MWC).[2] Merrill married soccer player Kanyan Ward in May 2018.[3]

As a junior, Merrill averaged 20.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game. He shot 46.1 percent from the floor, 37.6 percent from behind the three-point line, and 90.9 percent from the free throw line. Merrill led USU to a Mountain West tournament championship, securing the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. He was named the MWC Player of the Year and tournament MVP, as well as AP Honorable Mention All-American.[4] Merrill had a career-high 38 points on March 5, 2019, in a 100–96 overtime victory over Colorado State University (CSU).[3]

Merrill at Utah State in 2020

In the season opener of his senior year, Merrill had 28 points to help USU defeat Montana State 81–73.[5] On February 11, versus CSU, Merrill eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for his career and passed Wayne Estes for third on USU's all-time scoring list.[6] He finished with 32 points and five assists in a 75–72 win.[7] At the conclusion of the regular season, Merrill was named First Team All-MWC.[8] Merrill led USU to another MWC tournament championship, securing the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and was named MWC tournament MVP. The tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic soon after his final game, where he scored 27 points in a 59–56 upset of San Diego State in the tournament final and hit the game-winning three-pointer with 2.5 seconds remaining.[9]

Professional career

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Milwaukee Bucks (2020–2021)

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On November 18, 2020, Merrill was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans as the final pick of the 2020 NBA draft.

On November 24, Merrill was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a four-team trade involving the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets.[10] He was assigned to the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League to start the G League season, making his Hustle debut on February 10, 2021. In the regular season he played in 30 games for the Bucks and started two while averaging 3.0 points and 1.0 rebound, and shot 44.7% from three, in 7.8 minutes per game.[11] On the Bucks playoff run, Merrill appeared in 8 games, averaging 3.8 minutes and 0.6 points and rebounds per game.[11] Merrill ended his rookie season as an NBA champion when the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in 6 games in the 2021 NBA Finals.

Memphis Grizzlies (2021–2022)

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On August 7, 2021, Merrill was traded, along with two future second-round picks, to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Grayson Allen.[12] On January 1, 2022, he was waived.[13] Merrill averaged 4.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 6 games for the Grizzlies.[11]

Cleveland Charge (2022–2023)

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On August 13, 2022, Merrill signed with the Sacramento Kings.[14] He was waived prior to the start of the season.

On October 24, 2022, Merrill joined the Cleveland Charge training camp roster.[15] He was the No. 1 overall pick in the G League draft two days earlier.[16]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2023–present)

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Merrill pregame in 2023

On March 3, 2023, Merrill signed a 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[17] On March 14, he signed a multi-year contract with the Cavaliers.[18] On December 20, he scored a career-high 27 points and hit 8 three-pointers off the bench as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Utah Jazz 124–116.[19] On January 22, 2024, he scored 26 points, including a career-high 20 in the first half, in a 126–99 win over the Orlando Magic, helping lead Cleveland to its eighth straight win.[20] Merrill broke the franchise record for most bench three-pointers in a season on March 27, 2024. It was his 129th three-pointer off the bench for the 2023–24 season, breaking Donyell Marshall's previous record that was set during the 2005–06 season.[21]

Personal life

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In May 2018, Merrill married Kanyan Ward.[22] In November 2021, the couple announced they were having a baby girl and in May 2022 their daughter Kendall was born.[23]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21† Milwaukee 30 2 7.8 .444 .447 1.000 1.0 .7 .3 .0 3.0
2021–22 Memphis 6 0 9.6 .333 .304 .500 1.2 .7 .0 .0 4.2
2022–23 Cleveland 5 0 11.7 .409 .278 1.000 1.8 1.0 .8 .0 5.0
2023–24 Cleveland 61 1 17.5 .402 .404 .929 2.0 1.8 .3 .1 8.0
Career 102 3 13.9 .405 .398 .895 1.6 1.4 .3 .0 6.1

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021† Milwaukee 8 0 3.7 .286 .200 — .6 .1 .5 .0 .6
2024 Cleveland 10 0 12.5 .345 .370 1.000 1.2 .9 .0 .0 3.3
Career 18 0 8.6 .333 .344 1.000 .9 .6 .2 .0 2.1

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Utah State 31 18 26.2 .450 .451 .878 3.0 3.2 .9 .2 9.1
2017–18 Utah State 34 33 35.4 .504 .464 .849 3.3 3.1 1.0 .2 16.3
2018–19 Utah State 35 35 35.3 .461 .376 .909 3.9 4.2 1.1 .3 20.9
2019–20 Utah State 32 32 35.0 .461 .410 .893 4.1 3.9 .9 .1 19.7
Career 132 118 33.1 .470 .420 .891 3.6 3.6 1.0 .2 16.6

References

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  1. ^ Emerson, Taylor (February 17, 2017). "The fulfillment of a dream: Sam Merrill's journey to Utah State". The Utah Statesman. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Carr, Patrick (December 15, 2018). "Bountiful alum Sam Merrill adjusts to being Utah State basketball's focal point". The Standard-Examiner. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d Hunter, Jeff (March 12, 2019). "'Sam's a warrior': Utah State's Merrill wins Mountain West POY, continues to elevate play for co-champion Aggies". Deseret News. Archived from the original on March 13, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Carr, Patrick (April 2, 2019). "Sam Merrill, Bountiful alum, named AP honorable mention All-American". The Standard-Examiner. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  5. ^ "Merrill scores 28, No. 17 Utah State beats Montana State". ESPN. Associated Press. November 6, 2019. Archived from the original on November 6, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  6. ^ Allen, Trevor (February 11, 2020). "Sam Merrill Reaches 2,000 Points, Moves Up Utah State's Career Scoring List". kslsports.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "Sam Merrill scores 32 to lift Utah State over Colorado State 75–72". Deseret News. Associated Press. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  8. ^ "Mountain West Announces 2019-20 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  9. ^ "Utah State earns NCAA tournament berth by stunning SDSU for Mountain West title". ESPN. Associated Press. March 7, 2020. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Acquire Jrue Holiday From The New Orleans Pelicans As Part Of Four-Team Deal". NBA.com. November 24, 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Sam Merrill Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  12. ^ "Grizzlies acquire Sam Merrill and two future second round picks from Bucks". NBA.com. August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Kaplan, Phil (January 1, 2022). "Memphis Grizzlies sign forward Killian Tillie to a two-year contract, waive Sam Merrill". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  14. ^ "Kings sign free agent shooting guard Sam Merrill". sactownroyalty.com. August 13, 2022. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022.
  15. ^ "Charge 2022 Training Camp Roster". gleague.nba.com. October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  16. ^ Preece, Brian (October 23, 2022). "Former Aggie Taken First By Cleveland Charge In G-League Draft". KSL Sports. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  17. ^ "Cavaliers Sign Sam Merrill to 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  18. ^ "Cavaliers Sign Sam Merrill to Multi-Year Contract". NBA. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  19. ^ "Sam Merrill scores 27 as Cavs beat Jazz, 124-116". Yahoo News. December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  20. ^ "Cavaliers ease past Magic 126-99 for 8th straight win". Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Potosky, Logan (March 28, 2024). "Cavaliers' Sam Merrill Breaks Franchise Record Against Hornets". Sports Illustrated.
  22. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  23. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
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