Shaedon Sharpe injury forces early exit from Summer League debut

Portland Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe left the court on Thursday night in his Summer League debut after sustaining an injury to his left shoulder. League sources told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that the former Kentucky Wildcat will get an MRI to further examine the injury.

Sharpe exited the game in the first quarter versus the Detroit Pistons. It was his first time in live game action in nine months, and obviously, it did not go as planned. The 6-foot-6 guard finished with two points on 1-3 shooting, 0-2 from three, with one turnover in just over five minutes of play.

The Trail Blazers dropped the first game to the Pistons 81-78. Their next game is on Saturday versus the New Orleans Pelicans, and it’s unclear so far whether they’ll have their No. 7 overall pick available.

Sharpe showed off his agility and footwork when hitting the lone shot of his debut.

Shaedon Sharpe pivots and knocks down a TOUGH fadeaway for his first points!

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Dick Vitale believes Sharpe found perfect home with Trail Blazers

After enrolling early at Kentucky, Shaedon Sharpe elected to forego his NCAA eligibility and keep his name in the draft without playing a college game. That means he’d need to be drafted on the merit of his high school career and his potential.

That’s exactly why ESPN’s Dick Vitale recently listed the Portland Trailblazers as a winner from the draft. The Blazers selected Sharpe with the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft.

“The Portland Trail Blazers took the mystery man, Shaedon Sharpe, who has looked super in video highlights. He practiced with Kentucky but did not play with the Wildcats.”

Sharpe reclassified to the 2021 class as the No. 1 player in the 2022 class. He finished as the No. 4 player in On3’s 2021 Consensus Top Basketball Recruits. He committed to Kentucky last September before enrolling for the spring semester. While rumors suggested he would play last season, the story shifted and Sharpe said he intended to skip the rest of the season and return to Lexington in ’22-’23.

After he went through the draft process and workouts, that plan quickly went up in smoke altogether. His potential alone justified his spot as a Top 10 pick and he took the opportunity in front of him. Now, Vitale believes Portland can help him grow and be ready to be a professional despite his lack of experience.

“The key to playing in the NBA will be Sharpe’s ability to respond in game situations,” Vitale said. “He is going to a perfect place to grow as the Blazers are in a rebuilding mode.”

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.