Sam Merrill
Guard · Cleveland Cavaliers · #5
Sam Merrill: season analysis
Sam Merrill is a 30-year-old guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, wearing number 5. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Merrill has 7 years of NBA experience and played college basketball at Utah State.
In 2026-27, Merrill is averaging 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 23.1 minutes per game, with 1 starts in 9 games. The shooting line reads 38.6% from the field, 32.6% from three-point range and 91.7% from the free-throw line.
Compared with 2025-26 (12.8 points in 26.5 minutes per game), scoring is down by 5.1 points per game and playing time down by 3.4 minutes.
Before this season, Merrill played 6 NBA seasons and 225 games, averaging 8.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists. The best scoring season so far was 2025-26 at 12.8 points per game.
Injury report: Merrill is listed as out.
Background
Nationality: United States. Honors include the Mountain West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year (2019).
Background facts: Wikidata (CC0) · Sam Merrill on Wikipedia ↗
Injury status
Out · reported 2026-11-10
Profile
| Team | Cleveland Cavaliers |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Jersey | #5 |
| Age | 30 |
| Born | May 15, 1996 · Bountiful, UT, USA |
| Height | 6' 4" (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 205 lbs (93 kg) |
| College | Utah State |
| NBA experience | 7 years |
| Salary | $9,160,714 (2026-27) |
Cavaliers teammates
Jarrett AllenC · #31
Thomas BryantC · #3
James HardenG · #1
Mario HezonjaF · #33
Riley MinixF · #12
Donovan MitchellG · #45
Evan MobleyC · #4
Craig Porter Jr.G · #9
Tyrese ProctorG · #24
Meleek ThomasG · #15
Jaylon TysonG · #20
Ernest Udeh Jr.C · #88
Peyton WatsonG · #8Last 9 games
| Date | Opponent | Result | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG | 3PT | FT | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-06 | vs PHI | W 119-95 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | +12 |
| 2026-11-04 | @ OKC | L 116-124 | 27 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3-7 | 2-4 | 2-2 | -5 |
| 2026-11-02 | vs OKC | L 112-117 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-2 | -12 |
| 2026-10-31 | @ MIL | W 136-111 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 1-2 | +24 |
| 2026-10-29 | @ ATL | L 111-114 | 27 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6-11 | 4-8 | 0-0 | +8 |
| 2026-10-28 | vs WAS | W 121-111 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-7 | 2-6 | 2-2 | +8 |
| 2026-10-26 | vs MIN | W 127-125 | 31 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3-8 | 1-6 | 2-2 | +13 |
| 2026-10-24 | vs BKN | W 125-121 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 2-2 | +7 |
| 2026-10-22 | @ PHI | L 106-114 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 0-0 | +5 |
Season-by-season averages
| Season | Team | GP | GS | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OR | DR | FG | 3PT | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | cleveland cavaliers | 9 | 1 | 23.1 | 7.7 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 38.6 | 32.6 | 91.7 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 2.4-6.3 | 1.6-4.8 | 1.2-1.3 |
| 2025-26 | cleveland cavaliers | 52 | 38 | 26.5 | 12.8 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 46.1 | 42.1 | 85.5 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 4.3-9.3 | 3.0-7.2 | 1.1-1.3 |
| 2024-25 | cleveland cavaliers | 71 | 4 | 19.7 | 7.2 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 40.6 | 37.2 | 96.6 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.4-6.0 | 1.9-5.2 | 0.4-0.4 |
| 2023-24 | cleveland cavaliers | 61 | 1 | 17.5 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 40.2 | 40.4 | 92.9 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.6-6.4 | 2.3-5.8 | 0.4-0.5 |
| 2022-23 | cleveland cavaliers | 5 | 0 | 11.8 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 40.9 | 27.8 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 1.8-4.4 | 1.0-3.6 | 0.4-0.4 |
| 2021-22 | memphis grizzlies | 6 | 0 | 9.7 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 33.3 | 30.4 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.3-4.0 | 1.2-3.8 | 0.3-0.7 |
| 2020-21 | milwaukee bucks | 30 | 2 | 7.8 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 44.4 | 44.7 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.1-2.4 | 0.7-1.6 | 0.1-0.1 |
Profile, injury status and averages from ESPN's public NBA data, refreshed daily. MIN, PTS, REB… are per-game averages; OR/DR = offensive/defensive rebounds; FG, 3PT, FT = made-attempted per game.