Sam Dekker Profile, Career Stats, Salary, Girlfriend, Height and Age of The NBA Star

Quick Facts

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is full of talented basketball players who have the required speed, skills, and stamina to gain an advantage over their opponents in the field of play and win matches for their respective teams. Sam Dekker who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers can be said to be one of those players who can be pointed at when such comments are said about the NBA.

Having had an exceptional high school and collegiate career, Dekker has also proven that he can become a legend in the game bar injuries. Read on as we discover interesting facts about the Cavaliers power forward.

Sam Dekker’s Profile, Age

Samuel Thomas Dekker is the son of Carol Dekker and Todd Dekker and he was born on the 6th of May 1994. Dekker was born in Wisconsin, in a town known as Sheboygan. Todd Dekker, his father, was a basketball coach and so we know how he got his basketball passion at a very young age. Todd served as coach of the Sheboygan Lutheran High School and encouraged his son in the sport. Other information about the family reveals that he has two siblings who are older than him – a brother named John Dekker and a sister named Hannah Dekker.

As mentioned earlier, Sam Dekker’s father coached at the Sheboygan Lutheran High School which can be said to be the reason Sam ended up in the same institution for his high school education. He played basketball with the school’s team under his father’s tutelage as head coach of the team and in his time there, he led the team to their first ever championship – the WIAA state title.

For his impressive performance in high school, Sam Dekker was honored with the Mr. Basketball award by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches’ Association and named the 2012 Wisconsin Gatorade Player of the Year. He was also given a nod and picked in the AP first-team all-state and Parade All-American in the same year.

He would go on to enroll at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after graduating from high school in 2012. And as expected, he still continued with the sport he had come to love, playing collegiate basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers in his freshman, sophomore and junior years before he forfeited his final (senior) year for the NBA Draft in 2015.

His rookie season with the Wisconsin Badgers earned him the Big Ten All-Freshman team recognition and the next year, he was included in the watch lists for both the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award. During the 2015 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, which was his last season with the Badgers, Dekker was voted West Regional Most Outstanding Player.

Career and Stats

Sam Dekker entered the 2015 NBA Draft and was selected as the 18th overall pick by the Houston Rockets with who he signed his first contract. His excitement about showing his potential and talents in the NBA was delayed due to a back injury which ensured he missed the entire 2015 season. When he returned, he was sent to the D-League to play with their (Houston Rockets) affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

When he got his chance with the Rockets, he made sure he grabbed it with both hands. He recorded a career-high 30 points in his first start for the team – a game against the Memphis Grizzlies. He was part of a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers that saw  move to the Rockets in 2017. After one year with the Clippers, he was again traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a player plus cash deal that saw Vladimir Veremeenko move the other way.

Salary: How Much Does Sam Dekker Earn?

When Sam Dekker signed his rookie contract – a three-year deal – with the Houston Rockets in 2015, the contract was worth $5.1 million. In June 2017, he joined the Los Angeles Clippers and he earned a base annual salary of just over $1.7 million. He currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers were he earns over $2.7 million in annual salary which would increase to almost $4 million ($3,916,574) in the final year of the contract.

Is He Married? Girlfriend

Sam Dekker is a married man. He and Olivia Harlan were reported to be dating in 2016 and less than one year later the couple announced their engagement on Instagram in May 2017. Fast forward that to 14 months later and the lovebirds headed straight down the altar, walking down the aisle in holy matrimony. The tied the knots in front of family and friends at the Horseshoe Bay Golf Club in Egg Harbor on July 15, 2018.

Olivia Harlan is a sideline reporter for the ESPN who transitioned from reporting basketball to become Sam’s number fan and cheerleader. She grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and she is not unfamiliar with the game of basketball as her father is TNT and CBS sports announcer, Kevin Harlan, while grandfather was former CEO and president of the Green Bay Packers, Bob Harlan.

What is The Height of the NBA Star?

Sam Dekker is a handsome young athlete who has a great personality and physique. His charming smile which glues to his face like a wallpaper is one thing going for him with regards to his fanbase, especially the female ‘department’. About his body physique, his has a height that will stand among the tallest in the NBA – ‎6 feet 9 inches (206 cm). His weight, on the other hand, balances his tall frame at 230 lbs (104 kg). Sam has dark brown hair and his eyes are also the same color.

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