2025-26 Season
SAM HAUSER
2025-26 Season
SAM HAUSER
Hauser produces at an below average rate for a 25-minute workload.
About this model: Net Impact can't measure floor spacing, help defense rotations, or playmaking gravity — so wings and guards are slightly undervalued vs bigs. How Net Impact works
TEAM COMPARISON
of 13 teammates (10+ games, 10+ min)
SKILL DNA
Percentile rank vs 227 Forwards with 10+ games
THE SEASON SO FAR
Sam Hauser’s early season was defined by extreme, whiplash-inducing volatility. He swung wildly between acting as a lethal floor-spacing weapon and an outright offensive liability. When his perimeter mechanics broke down, the results were disastrous. A brutal shooting slump on 11/05 vs WAS completely neutralized his primary value, cratering his impact to a miserable -10.2 as defenders aggressively abandoned him on the perimeter. Even when his shot actually landed, hidden costs frequently dragged him down, like during the 11/23 vs ORL matchup where his 14 points resulted in a -6.3 impact due to severe defensive bleeding. Conversely, he occasionally found ways to generate massive value without filling the box score. During the 11/18 vs BKN game, he managed a stellar +7.8 impact despite scoring just 8 points because his phenomenal off-ball gravity and elite defensive rotations warped the opposing shell.
This volatile midseason stretch was defined by the feast-or-famine reality of relying on a pure perimeter specialist. When his shot fell, Hauser was a lethal weapon. He peaked on 12/26 vs IND with 23 points and a staggering +19.1 impact score, as his constant off-ball movement and immediate trigger off screens completely broke the opponent's defense. He occasionally found ways to contribute without high volume, like during the 12/02 vs NYK matchup where he scored just six points but still managed a +0.6 impact. Serving primarily as a floor-spacing decoy that night, he buoyed his overall value with surprisingly stout defense. But when the outside shot abandoned him, the floor fell out. On 01/07 vs DEN, an uncharacteristically quiet night from the perimeter completely neutralized his usual offensive gravity, dragging him down to a disastrous -11.5 impact score.
A crippling mid-season shooting slump turned Sam Hauser from a dangerous floor-spacer into an outright liability. Early in this stretch, he found ways to contribute without filling the bucket, posting a +4.3 impact score on 01/24 vs CHI despite scoring just 8 points by relying on steady defensive effort and positive hustle metrics. But the bottom quickly fell out on 02/01 vs MIL. Clanking a barrage of wide-open looks from deep completely derailed the half-court offense, resulting in just 3 points and a brutal -12.0 impact score. Even when his scoring briefly returned, hidden defensive costs kept him firmly in the red. He managed 13 points on 02/27 vs BKN, yet suffered a -5.2 impact score because opponents ruthlessly targeted his lateral quickness in isolation. When the three-ball refuses to drop, his lack of creation makes him too easy to ignore on one end and far too easy to hunt on the other.
IMPACT TIMELINE
Game-by-game performance vs average. Green = above average, red = below.
Boom-or-bust player. Hauser's impact swings wildly relative to his average — some nights dominant, others invisible. Scoring varies by ~6 points per game.
Streaky shooter — only cracks 45% from the field in 37% of games. Efficiency is all over the place night-to-night.
Defensive difference-maker. Hauser consistently forces tough shots and protects the rim — opponents shoot worse when he's guarding them.
Slight upward trend. First-half impact: -2.6, second-half: -1.0. Modest improvement — possibly settling into a rhythm.
Tends to go on runs. Longest hot streak: 8 games. Longest cold streak: 10 games.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Based on 72 games with tracking data. Shows who guarded this player on offense and who he guarded on defense, with their shooting stats in those matchups.
ON OFFENSE: WHO GUARDED HIM
His shooting stats against each primary defender this season
ON DEFENSE: WHO HE GUARDED
How opponents shot when he was the primary defender. Lower FG% = better defense.
SEASON STATS
GAME LOG
73 games played