Sam Hauser's rags to riches NBA story honored by Boston Celtics Banner 18 teammate

Jordan Walsh hopes to one day be on the Sam Hauser plan; starting out in the G League and getting a massive multi-million dollar extension just as the former Marquette and Virginia wing did during the 2024 offseason.

“Now his name’s gonna be everywhere in the banners in Maine and everybody’s going to see it,” Walsh said (h/t CLNS Media). “He was a guy who climbed that ladder. It took a while, it was hard, but he did it. He’s successful at it, he’s a great player and he’s valuable to the Celtics, obviously. So I think that shows that anybody with enough time and hard work can accomplish the same thing.”

Hauser was asked to be a much bigger factor in 2023-24 than he ever played before, and he responded in earnest. Joe Mazzulla had Hauser as the team's legitimate seventh rotation player, and without a healthy Kristaps Porzingis, sixth, during the team's Banner 18 run.

The Cs will be paying massive luxury tax bills in the future, and Hauser will contribute to that. But letting him slip through the cracks in 2025 free agency could've thinned out the Celtics' roster too much.

Jordan Walsh not ready to contribute yet to the Boston Celtics

Walsh's journey will have to differ from Hauser's. The sharpshooting Green Bay native was a factor immediately during his first season, 2021-22. Walsh played just over 10 minutes throughout the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

It's likely Walsh's first extension will be a bargain for a Boston roster that can't afford anything but bargains at this point. As the Arkansas product revealed, he probably isn't ready to be a contributor just yet.

“I still feel like a rookie almost,” Walsh said. “I’m still learning. I feel like in this Summer League setting I could take on more of a leadership role because I’ve seen it, I know what it looks like. But during the season, I’m taking a backseat learning as much as I can from (Boston’s current rookies). I’m trying to give out as much knowledge as I can but also take as much as I can.”

Not everyone's path is linear. Walsh could be more of a Maine Celtics mainstay than Hauser ever was before he could crack the Boston Celtics' rotation.