3 Portland Trail Blazers who could break out in 2022
By Nathan Smith
2. Shaedon Sharpe
Shaedon Sharpe may not have played a regular season game at the NBA level yet, but he’s had the whole league talking after the ridiculous dunk he threw down in the teams pre-season finale, and with a solid scoring ability at all three levels, he has a chance to be a key piece to the potential success of this Blazers team in 2022. Sharpe may have not played a game at the college level, but he’s shown an ability to create his own shot, and with athleticism like his that jumps off the page, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be among the best rookies to come out of the 2022 draft class.
Minutes won’t just be handed to him, as Head Coach Chauncey Billups will make him earn them, but this is a team that has the raw talent to be a competitor, and Sharpe is the brightest spot on a team full of young talent, so he needs to take a major step and contribute immediately in his rookie year.
Sharpe won’t average 25 PPG in his rookie year, but if he can contribute a solid 15 PPG in 20-25 minutes off the bench, this team will see that as a major win, and at just 19-years of age, that type of potential output would only be scratching the surface of what Sharpe can grow into at the NBA level.