“I will be one of the greatest in history“This is how it was sold in the face of the past Draft. To get others to love you, you must first love yourself. That seems to be the phrase that summarizes the vital philosophy of Shaedon Sharpe. Considered the best project for the 2023 Draft, but reclassified for 2022, it is about a difficult player to define and delimit due to the demands of basketball, of which he has been a part until now, and his case is even more particular due to the history he has had since his university days. Despite those questions, Sharpe, a 198cm, 19-year-old shooting guard-forward, remains a huge talent.
It was especially risky for any team to pick a player without having a rough idea of what he could offer in a marked role, without having been able to see him in a demanding setting. However, the Portland Trail Blazers, with the seventh pick, they jumped into the pool… and they seem to have found water inside. The one from Ontario, taking into account what has been exhibited at this stage of the season, we can recognize two nuclear virtues: his ability to generate and score complex shots and some outstanding physical conditions that, precisely, give meaning and cohesion to the first.
Sharpe posterizando a Kyle Kuzma
The role in Portland
Shaedon Sharpe is a player dependent on the ball to produce. And since his arrival in the NBA he has been forced to live with extremely low volume of shares. It’s what it takes to share a team (and position) with two of the biggest offensive talents in the league: Damian Lillard y Anfernee Simons. After 59 games, Shaedon is registering a USG% of 16.1. Remember that this metric refers to the volume of use of a player within the offensive plays of the team. This is calculated from the plays that end with a shot, loss or foul.
In this facet, we place the young ‘guard’ from Portland in the thirteenth position among rookies who play at least ten minutes per game. In 20′ per game, Sharpe is averaging: 7.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 47.1% in TC, 34.7% in T3, 66.7% in TL.
The rotation of Chauncey Billups has undergone alterations in the last month. Anfernee’s injury and the arrivals of Cam Reddish y Mattisse Thybulle, main factors of these variations. And, although at first it could be thought that the Florida player’s injury would cause Shaedon’s promotion to the starting lineup, the truth is that he continues with the same role.
Patience, the talent is there
Small details sometimes mean more than grand actions. The true essence of Sharpe is in those imperceptible things that he builds game by game. The NBA gives you little room for error. For this reason, and taking into account the fact that he did not compete in the NCAA, getting an idea of his fit into a collective gear from a specific role and efficient production from the outset was unfeasible. Therefore, the appropriate focus to be established on Sharpe is the one that focuses in their abilities and the relationship between their physical conditions and their habits with the ball.
Sharpe possesses a vertical jump rarely seen before
Shaedon is the most explosive athlete of his generation. And one of the best physically endowed exteriors in recent years. Logically, this leads to a huge number of highlights and videos that go viral as the games go by. These qualities also have a great impact on the functional deployment of your game. With a privileged lower trunk that allows you to gain horizontal spaces with relative easehas responded well to the physical gap between high school and the NBA, and is capable of repeat efforts without complication. This mixture of gestural agility, verticality y consistency in the legs make him a player with the ideal body qualities to be a scorer at three levels.
Another factor to comment on is its mindset. The only thing he has in mind is the end result, the long-term goal. “I’m looking forward to playing and competing at the highest level. One of my goals going into this season will be to win Rookie of the Year, then become an All-Star, and then earn a place in the Hall of Fame,” he said. Sharpe. The player owns that desire to improve and be the best. Something he’s inherited from Lillard. They both have that “killer” mentality.
And it is that, since Shaedon revealed that he was not going to participate in the dunk contest to focus on the second part of the season with Portandthe Canadian chained five games in which he averaged 13.8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists with some fantastic percentages: 61.8% in TC and 56.3% in T3. A small sample of everything it can offer.
Capacity for mate and cork
In two words, Sharpe floats. A special and unmistakable phenomenon. The colloquial term for this is hang-time, and it is his defining characteristic as a matador. What differentiates a great finisher from a good finisher is the ability to adjust his body in the air., and Sharpe certainly checks that box. His mates are characterized by the absolute defiance of gravity and the overwhelming naturalness with which it is used. The storytellers marvel at him, the ‘blazer’ bench delights with him. It’s like a magic trick; penetrates the mind of the beholder.
Shaedon Sharpe’s 45 dunks this season
The characteristics that make the native of London (Canada) so spectacular and effective as a matador, also lend themselves to other facets of your game. The same natural sense of timing you use to prepare for alley-oops makes it a a more than interesting stopper.
Weaknesses: decision making, ball handling and defensive inconsistency
Penetration has always been an essential element of his game. However, the young player from Portland He only makes 1.8 penetrations per game. Up to ten players on your team get more revenue from this type of action. But the worst comes in decision-making when you make them. A player who, on most occasions, He only sees the entrance to the basket as a resource to finish those maneuvers. You need to acquire that ability to interpret and give the exact rhythm to the play. that ability to scan the field and find the best solution. Something that, over time, will end up acquiring.
Another aspect that Sharpe must refine is his ball handling. He doesn’t have the best technique. He does not have an excellent ball bounce. On many occasions you notice a lack of fluency that sometimes ends up hurting him (turnovers). In the open field it is a plane, but in static, it shows a lack of neatness in handling and bounce. Another aspect that, like the previous one, will be perfected with the passing of the matches.
‘Air’ Sharpe, among the best killers in the NBA
And finally, we must mention his defensive inconsistency. It is true that, in recent games, Sharpe has improved in that facet. Despite having ideal physical qualities for the NBA (quick hands, intuition and dimensions to take care of any exterior) he is a player who has committed blunders in defense. Irregularity is its hallmark. Shaedon will need order and rigor to continue evolving in this area. The potential has it. It has enough margin to work it.
Immediate demand on the Blazers
The Portland project so demands it. Shaedon needs minutes and repetitions. Unlike Banker o Jabari SmithSharpe He does not have a team that gives him the ball and countless minutes without demanding immediate results. What it does have is another primary generator next door. One of the best in the league, in fact. Which causes his statistical production to not be as great as that of other rookies.
A double appreciation weighs on the young talent of the Blazers that has much of a paradox. on one side, his suicide basketball is celebrated and, on the other, is convicted of reckless. If Shaedon moderates his powers (which is always the waste of time), he would lose exactly what makes him different. That a young talent equals his instincts and his refusal to uproot. Sharpe belongs to the valuable lineage of players who jump onto the track naked to fight in the open, safe from considering the uniform as a disguise and not a job.
