The Human Rorschach Test
Shaedon Sharpe is whatever you imagine him to be, for better or worse
Photo credit: FIBA
How do you evaluate a player with such wildly evident game and pitifully little game tape? 6’5 Canadian scoring guard Shaedon Sharpe last played competitively in February 2021, as a top-100 level high school junior; by the end of that summer camp season he’d elevated to the top prospect (non-Victor Wenbanyama division) for the 2023 Draft. In September he committed to Kentucky for the 2022-23 season, but reclassified and joined the team at midseason as whispers started to circulate about his possible NCAA *and* NBA draft eligibility hitting sooner than expected. Though ruled eligible to play college basketball, Sharpe (with the blessing and mutual agreement of Wildcats coach John Calipari) chose to remain inactive and use practice time to adapt himself to the raised competition level.
Of course, mystique breeds curiosity, and NBA interest metastasized over the past few months. After his prep school - Dream City Christian, in Arizona - confirmed that Sharpe had finished his graduation requirements in May 2021, the NBA declared him draft-eligible and off he went. 12 high school games in 2020-21 catching fire against Dream City’s grueling Grind Sessions circuit schedule, a dozen more lighting up the court at Nike’s EYBL AAU run that summer, and then…nothing. No SEC off nights because a 22-year-old defender in Gainesville spent all game elbowing Sharpe in the ribs when the refs weren’t looking. No ugly G League Ignite tape where he plays hero ball and chucks up bad shots eight possessions in a row because if he passes to Jaden Hardy he knows he’s not getting the rock back. No getting pulled by an angry coach in Italy or China or Australia for blowing a defensive assignment, then sitting on the bench pouting for two games in front of scouts who traveled halfway around the world to see him.
Into the void is fear, but also possibility. The timing of COVID-19 hindered this draft class’ development and scouting more than any other - the one-and-dones (and their age bracket) saw their rising senior summer wiped out, their final high school season played in disarray if at all, and joined college or pro programs expected to contribute following two years mostly on ice. The sophomores had their transitions to NCAA ball obliterated and faced practice rules meant to keep elite athletes in a contact sport from breathing on one another.
This group as a whole has probably gotten less full-team practice time between ages 17 and 21 than any incoming rookies since the NBA instituted its age requirements in 2007. Knowing how much development needs to be projected for ALL of these kids, and the risk that entails, a team might ask if they can really afford to pass on Sharpe’s clear and obvious talent, just because he hasn’t shown as much the past two years as other players who also have not shown much the past two years.
Sharpe is a cup half full, or a cup half empty. An organization whose front office, coaching staff, and player development team is all on the same page and trusts each other to be patient can salivate over Sharpe’s elite athleticism, 6-foot-11.5-inch wingspan, and an ability to get to his shot at all three levels that is without peer in this draft. But he’s a long-term play, and isn’t the type of prospect who can play positive minutes and fill a winning secondary role this season and next while he grows and taps into his star upside.
The shot creation is very real - Sharpe is smooth and quick and powerful in getting separation on his pull-up or step-back, with a high release point and compact form. But the shot itself needs consistency. The finishing can translate - he’s bendy and creative, with good touch around the basket and the feel to decide in real time whether to finish around or above his defender. But the handle needs refinement in tight spaces if he wants to get to the rim in the first place. He’s a low-impact and infrequent passer, but both Dream City Christian and his UPLAY Canada EYBL team were designed with Sharpe as option one, two, and three. He’s an absent-minded and upright defender, but the amount of coaching and instruction he’s had on that end of the floor could likely fit on Nolan Richardson’s pinky nail.
Ultimately, the NBA is a league of stars, and though some teams will be scared off by the long road ahead, high risk, and lack of immediate impact, the talent wins out. He and Chet Holmgren are the only players in this draft with legitimate MVP/All-NBA potential if everything breaks right, and I don’t mind that dice roll on Shaedon Sharpe anywhere outside the top three of Holmgren, Jabari Smith, and Paolo Banchero.