Sam Cassell

Sam Cassell was the kind of crafty, big-bodied point guard who always seemed to sense the moment. Drafted 24th in 1993 out of Florida State, he won titles as a rookie contributor on Houston's back-to-back champions of 1994 and 1995, then spent fifteen years across eight franchises proving that pace, guile, and a soft mid-range floater could outlast pure athleticism. His lone All-Star and All-NBA honors both came in 2003-04, the season he and Kevin Garnett drove Minnesota to the Western Conference Finals. He captured a third ring as a player in his final season with the 2008 Celtics, then reinvented himself in coaching, adding a fourth title as a Boston assistant in 2024. Cassell's real signature was feel — an instinct for tempo and timing that now makes him one of the league's most respected assistants.