Shaedon Sharpe (born May 30, 2003) is a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the

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(NBA). He was a consensus five-star

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and considered one of the top players in his class at Dream City Christian School in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

. Sharpe signed with

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

but did not play a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

game before leaving for the NBA. He was selected seventh overall in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

High school career

Sharpe played basketball for H. B. Beal Secondary School in his hometown of

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

and led his team to an

Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) is an organization of student-athletes, teacher-coaches, student-coaches, teachers, principals, and sport administrators in Ontario, Canada. OFSAA is the second largest high school ath ...

AAA appearance. He moved to Sunrise Christian Academy in

Bel Aire, Kansas Bel Aire is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States, and a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,262. History Bel Aire was founded in January 1955 when a group of local residents petitioned the ...

, where he had a limited production as a sophomore. For his junior season, Sharpe transferred to Dream City Christian School in

and assumed a leading role. He averaged 21.4 points and six rebounds per game in the Grind Session. He competed for UPLAY Canada on the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

circuit, with whom he was mentored by Dwayne Washington.

Recruiting

Sharpe was a consensus five-star

and was ranked as the third-best player in the 2021 class by

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and

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. He was previously the number one player in the 2022 class before reclassifying. Sharpe was unranked by major recruiting services early in his high school career and became one of the top players in his class in about one year, in part due to his success at the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

in 2021. On September 7, 2021, he committed to playing

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for

over offers from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

and the NBA G League Ignite. He was the first number one recruit to commit to the program since

Nerlens Noel Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his anterior cruciate ...

in 2012.

College career

Sharpe graduated early from high school with the intention of redshirting his first year at Kentucky and playing in the 2022–23 season. On February 7, 2022, head coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

announced that Sharpe would not play for the team in the 2021–22 season after speculation that he would play and enter the

, for which he was eligible. On April 21, Sharpe declared for the 2022 draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility without playing a game.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2022–present)

Sharpe was selected with the seventh overall pick in the

by the Portland Trail Blazers. He joined the 6th overall pick,

Bennedict Mathurin Bennedict Richard Felder Mathurin (born June 19, 2002) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, where he was named a ...

, as the only Canadians drafted in the first round that year. On July 1, 2022, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Trail Blazers. On July 8, in his

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

debut, Sharpe suffered a shoulder injury after under six minutes of play. An MRI later revealed a small labral tear in his left shoulder, and Sharpe was unable to play for the rest of the Summer League. On October 19, he made his NBA debut, scoring 12 points in a 115–108 win over the Sacramento Kings.

National team career

Sharpe represented Canada at the

2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Belém, Brazil from 3 to 9 June 2019. The top four teams qualified for the 2020 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Bulgaria. Qual ...

in Brazil. He averaged 13 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, helping his team win the silver medal.

References

External links

Kentucky Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpe, Shaedon 2003 births Living people Basketball people from Ontario Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States National Basketball Association players from Canada Canadian men's basketball players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Shooting guards Sportspeople from London, Ontario