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Player profile · CLE / MEM / MIL
Sam Merrill
Sam Merrill stats, teams and career impact
#1942 all-timeCareer averages · 8.0 PPG · 2.0 RPG · 1.6 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Shooting guard
- 2025–26 team
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) · 205 lb (93 kg)
- Born
- May 15, 1996 (30 yrs old)
- College
- Utah State University
- NBA seasons
- 6 seasons · 2020–21 to 2025–26
Selected season2025–26 · CLE · 52 games · 1,377 minutes
- PPG
- 12.8
- RPG
- 2.6
- APG
- 2.4
- #82 of 395 52 games · 1,377 minutes
- 76th percentile
Impact Rate Rank
Season Value percentile
Career overview
Why Sam Merrill currently ranks #1942 all time
Sam Merrill ranks #1942 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #147.7. His full-career value already ranks #1359 after 6 seasons, and his all-time position can still rise.
450+ minutes required per season
225 games · Career Value Rank #1359
Head to head
Compare Sam Merrill with…
Suggested matchups from basketball rivalries, comparable roles, and similar careers. Two active players open in the latest published season; switch to Career to compare their full careers.
- Sam Merrill vs. Keita Bates-Diop Similar career path
- Sam Merrill vs. Shabazz Napier Similar career path
- Sam Merrill vs. Moses Moody Similar career path
- Sam Merrill vs. Cal Christensen Similar career path
- Sam Merrill vs. Miles McBride Similar career path
- Sam Merrill vs. David Nwaba Similar career path
- Sam Merrill vs. Paul Reed Same-era comparison
- Sam Merrill vs. Naji Marshall Same-era comparison
- Sam Merrill vs. Cole Anthony Same-era comparison
- Sam Merrill vs. Isaiah Stewart Same-era comparison
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies, and Cleveland Cavaliers
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 42.4%FG%
- Three-point
- 39.7%3P%
- Free throw
- 89.0%FT%
225 career games · 4,197 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Sam Merrill stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | 12.8 | 2.6 | 2.4 | +0.18 | CLE | 52 | 38 | 26.5 | 46.1% | 42.1% | 85.5% | #82 | 34.1 |
| 2024–25 | 7.2 | 2.2 | 1.5 | -1.20 | CLE | 71 | 4 | 19.7 | 40.6% | 37.2% | 96.6% | #261 | 23.3 |
| 2023–24 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | +0.83 | CLE | 61 | 1 | 17.5 | 40.2% | 40.4% | 92.9% | #100 | 61.4 |
| 2022–23 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | -7.84 | CLE | 5 | 0 | 11.8 | 40.9% | 27.8% | 100.0% | — | -6.9 |
| 2021–22 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.7 | -10.09 | MEM | 6 | 0 | 9.7 | 33.3% | 30.4% | 50.0% | — | -9.8 |
| 2020–21 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | -3.62 | MIL | 30 | 2 | 7.8 | 44.4% | 44.7% | 100.0% | — | -8.1 |
| Career | 8.0 | 2.0 | 1.6 | — | CLE/MEM/MIL | 225 | — | 18.7 | 42.4% | 39.7% | 89.0% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
RoleSG · Age 29
Availability52 games · 38 starts
Workload26.5 MPG · 1,377 minutes
Relative impactCLE #4 of 11 · SG #17 of 109
UpdatedOct 6, 2026
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
52 games · 1,377 minutes · 71.5 / 100 · higher score is better · No. 1 is the best rank
34.1 total value · 395 qualified players
Career Composite 210.7 · lower is better · 6 seasons
Ranking certainty: Wide, likely #28–#306
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
- Impact estimate
- The live model's final estimate in points per 100 possessions, including lineup evidence. It can differ from box impact. Higher is better.
Bottom line · 2025–26
Sam Merrill delivered a strong 2025–26 campaign, ranking 82nd in per-minute impact. His box-score profile ranked 149th, led by elite scoring efficiency. After adjusting for teammates and opponents, his on-court impact was stronger than the box score indicated, lifting his overall rating. Over about 1,400 minutes, he finished in the 76th percentile for total season value.
2025–26 NBA percentile rankings: What drives Sam Merrill's impact
395 qualified NBA playersEvery player in the comparison logged at least 450 minutes.
Compare with
Overall value
Impact Rate
0–100 score · higher is better
71.5 / 100Season Value
76
34.1Scoring role
Usage
39
17.0%True shooting
91
64.4%3-point attempt rate
98
77.5%Free-throw rate
18
14.3%Creation and control
Assist rate
47
12.3%Turnover avoidance
95
7.5%Possession stats
Rebound rate
7
5.3%Steal rate
22
1.2%Block rate
9
0.5%Lineup signal
Offensive lineup impact387-player lineup pool
88
+1.86 pts/100Defensive lineup impact387-player lineup pool
61
+0.45 pts/100Workload
Minutes per game
63
26.5Games played
27
52Total minutes
51
1,377A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession. The other bars show percentiles in the selected comparison group. Farther right means more of the named trait, not automatically better basketball. Turnover avoidance reverses turnover rate. Lineup figures are points per 100 possessions; higher is better. Lineup rows exclude players below the 1,000-possession lineup-sample floor.
Ranking editions
How the ranking changed
Both editions use the source snapshot dated Jul 14, 2026. These are model-version changes, not results from new games. Each edition keeps its original published numbers.
71.5 Impact Rate · 1,377 MP
Ranking edition: Jul 21, 2026
First snapshot71.5 Impact Rate · 1,377 MP
Ranking edition: Oct 6, 2026
↓1 since priorEvery season
Sam Merrill advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26live model | CLE | 29 | 52 | 1,377 | +0.18 | 71.5 | #82 | 34.1 | 76th | Standard |
| 2024–25 | CLE | 28 | 71 | 1,401 | -1.20 | 33.0 | #261 | 23.3 | 39th | Broad |
| 2023–24 | CLE | 27 | 61 | 1,069 | +0.83 | 73.2 | #100 | 61.4 | 61st | Broad |
| 2022–23 | CLE | 26 | 5 | 59 | -7.84 | — | — | -6.9 | — | Limited |
| 2021–22 | MEM | 25 | 6 | 58 | -10.09 | — | — | -9.8 | — | Limited |
| 2020–21 | MIL | 24 | 30 | 233 | -3.62 | — | — | -8.1 | — | Limited |
Career movement
Sam Merrill's box impact by season
Peak box impact +0.83 points per 100 possessions in 2023–24 · 6 seasons · 4,197 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutes
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Sam MerrillKeita Bates-Diop
| NBA season | Sam Merrill | Keita Bates-Diop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | -3.6 | -2.4 |
| 2 | -10.1 | -0.7 |
| 3 | -7.8 | -3.2 |
| 4 | 0.8 | -1.7 |
| 5 | -1.2 | 1.3 |
| 6 | 0.2 | -1.0 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Sam Merrill
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
SF · All-Time Career #1914
Keita Bates-Diop
86career similarity score
87/100 closest-season score · 2023–24 ↔ 2023–24PG · All-Time Career #1723Shabazz Napier
86career similarity score
93/100 closest-season score · 2023–24 ↔ 2018–19SG · All-Time Career #2016Moses Moody
85career similarity score
88/100 closest-season score · 2023–24 ↔ 2025–26Why this rank?
Why Sam Merrill ranks #82
The current model starts with box production, checks it against multi-season lineup evidence, caps that correction, then accounts for how many minutes the player was trusted to play each game.
Steps 1–4 use points per 100 possessions. Step 5 converts the final estimate to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Higher is better on both scales; they are not the same number.
Prior rank #149
Current total +3.38 ±1.0
Split model · O +1.86 · D +0.45 = +2.31
Maximum ±1.25
Points per 100 possessions · higher is better
Higher is better · 73.4 before the MPG adjustment · rank #82
RAPM estimates lineup impact while controlling for the other nine players on the floor. The multi-season blend, current total model, and current offensive/defensive split are separate estimates, so they need not equal one another. hussEyquation uses the multi-season signal as a bounded correction, not as a standalone verdict.
Ranking certaintyWide
The model's 80% impact interval is -1.04 to +3.45. Exact ordering is difficult when many players have overlapping estimates.
- Top 25 chance
- 9%
- Top 50 chance
- 20%
- Top 100 chance
- 39%
- 80% rank range
- #28–#306
Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →