Media Day 2022: Shaedon Sharpe is Learning

Sep 26, 2022 - 9:24 PM

Portland Trail Blazers Media Day 2022 featured interviews from almost every Trail Blazers player on the roster, but one of them stood out as a greater mystery than all the rest, not just in Portland, but around the NBA. The Blazers drafted Shaedon Sharpe 7th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, but the incoming rookie hadn’t played a minute of college ball. He barely played two minutes in Summer League before going down with a shoulder tear. The combination of high expectations and mystique make Sharpe an intriguing watch as the season starts.

The best news of the day is that Sharpe is healthy after suffering a shoulder tear in the first game of NBA Summer League, 2022. Danny Marang of Blazer’s Edge and 1080 The Fan tweeted the summary:

He’s healthy, playing 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 and he’s fully ready to go.

Sharpe has confidence about his place on the Blazers and in the NBA:

I feel like I can play on this level it shows in practice.

He [Nassir Little] went up for a dunk and I blocked up - there’s a lot of moments like that (that let him know he belongs).

I have a goal of being Rookie of the Year, make the rookie all star team.

He also has a special reason for selecting uniform number 17:

On his #17, “1st round, 7th pick.”

As Sean Highkin relays, Sharpe is not above learning a thing or two:

Shaedon Sharpe on Damian Lillard: “It’s crazy. While you’re playing with him, he’s teaching you.”

Marang echoes:

Dame has taught me a lot, his pace, how to get guys involved- it’s crazy while he’s playing with you he’s telling you why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Check out the site for more recaps of Media Day 2022 interviews!