Samuel Hoskins Merrill (born May 15, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed β Money Merrill,β 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 for the Utah State Aggies.
Early life
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.
College career
Merrill went on a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Nicaragua before his freshman year at Utah State University. When he returned, head coach
Stew Morrill retired and was replaced by
Tim Duryea.
Merrill posted 9.4 points per game as a freshman.
In his sophomore season, Merrill averaged 16.3 points per game for the Aggies.
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 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American.
Professional career
Milwaukee Bucks (2020β2021)
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.
Memphis Grizzlies (2021β2022)
On August 7, 2021, Merrill was traded, along with two future second-round picks, to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for
Grayson Allen.
On January 1, 2022, he was waived.
Merrill averaged 4.2 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 6 games for the Grizzlies.
Cleveland Charge / Cavaliers (2022βpresent)
On August 13, 2022, Merrill signed with the
Sacramento Kings.
He was waived prior to the start of the season.
On October 24, 2022, Merrill joined the Cleveland Charge training camp roster.
On June 28, 2025, Merrill re-signed with the Cavaliers on a 4-year, $38 million contract.
Personal life
In May 2018, Merrill married Kanyan Ward.
In November 2021, the couple announced they were having a baby girl and in May 2022 their daughter Kendall was born.
Their second child, a son, was born February 2025.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| β
| style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee
| 30 || 2 || 7.8 ||
.444 ||
.447 ||
1.000 || 1.0 || .7 || .3 || .0 || 3.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Memphis
| 6 || 0 || 9.6 || .333 || .304 || .500 || 1.2 || .7 || .0 || .0 || 4.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 5 || 0 || 11.7 || .409 || .278 ||
1.000 || 1.8 || 1.0 ||
.8 || .0 || 5.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
| 61 || 1 || 17.5 || .402 || .404 || .929 || 2.0 ||
1.8 || .3 || .1 ||
8.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland
|
71 ||
4 ||
19.7 || .406 || .372 || .966 ||
2.2 || 1.5 || .7 ||
.2 || 7.2
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 173 || 7 || 13.9 || .405 || .386 || .925 || 1.9 || 1.4 || .5 || .1 || 6.5
Playoffs
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2021β
| style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee
| 8 || 0 || 3.7 || .286 || .200 || || .6 || .1 ||
.5 || .0 || .6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2024
| style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland
|
10 || 0 || 12.5 || .345 ||
.370 ||
1.000 || 1.2 || .9 || .0 || .0 || 3.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2025
| style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland
| 8 ||
3 ||
19.9 ||
.375 || .359 || .667 ||
2.5 ||
1.8 ||
.5 ||
.3 ||
5.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 26 || 3 || 12.1 || .355 || .352 || .833 || 1.4 || .9 || .3 || .1 || 3.2
College
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2016β17
| style="text-align:left;"| Utah State
| 31 || 18 || 26.2 || .450 || .451 || .878 || 3.0 || 3.2 || .9 || .2 || 9.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2017β18
| style="text-align:left;"| Utah State
| 34 || 33 ||
35.4 ||
.504 ||
.464 || .849 || 3.3 || 3.1 || 1.0 || .2 || 16.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2018β19
| style="text-align:left;"| Utah State
|
35 ||
35 || 35.3 || .461 || .376 ||
.909 || 3.9 ||
4.2 ||
1.1 ||
.3 ||
20.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2019β20
| style="text-align:left;"| Utah State
| 32 || 32 || 35.0 || .461 || .410 || .893 ||
4.1 || 3.9 || .9 || .1 || 19.7
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 132 || 118 || 33.1 || .470 || .420 || .891 || 3.6 || 3.6 || 1.0 || .2 || 16.6
External links
