If you’re not familiar with Shaydon Sharp’s game, here’s your chance.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ high-profile rookie came into his own on Tuesday, making a top dunk nominee in a 123-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors. It came at the expense of Draymond Green.
Early in the fourth quarter, Sharp benefited from a well-timed pass from striker Trendon Watford, who faced the double team in a low stance. Watford turned around to see Sharpe cutting through the path and hit him with the ball as he went. From here, Sharpe knew what to do.
He jumped from the top of the restricted area, hit the ball with his right hand, and then dunked through Green, who met him helplessly at the ring.
Here’s another slow motion look.
After Green had taken a dip in the water, he was impatient for Sharpe’s presence. He pushed Sharpe and then pushed him out of his way on the baseline while he was chasing the ball. Sharpe just smiled and ran back, probably realizing that he had just put one of the game’s most notorious talkers on the poster.
Who is Schaedon Sharp?
Sharp was a mystery to most basketball fans when the Blazers selected him seventh overall from Kentucky last summer. No. 3 prospect in the nation, Sharpe retrained for high school and enrolled in Kentucky for a semester early last spring.
Instead of joining the Wildcats in the middle of the season, he decided sit through the season. As soon as the NBA teams told him that he would be the best choice, he announced the draft. The decision paid off with a lottery choice.
A 6-6 guard, he averaged 20.2 minutes as a rookie, averaging 7.9 points per game on 47.1% shooting from the field and 34.7% from three-point range. At 19, he works very hard. But the incredible athleticism that made him a promising player in the elite is not.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
