The Portland Trail Blazers front office took a risk when they decided to extend Shaedon Sharpe to a four-year, $90 million deal before the season started. Sharpe has always had star potential, but it remained largely untapped. This was the Blazers betting on the player Sharpe could become, not the player he's been in years past. If this season is any indication, that was the right decision.
Sharpe is having the best season of his young career, averaging 21.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 45/34/77 shooting splits. He's addressing the two most significant question marks that came with his extension: shooting and defense.
Shaedon Sharpe proving Blazers were right to extend him
Those are two key areas for Sharpe to return on the Blazers' investment. The market doesn't value one-dimensional, score-first players favorably, especially if they are a defensive liability. Not to mention a score-first player who can't even reliably space the floor.
Sharpe had empty stats early in his career, as his scoring didn't reflect his two-way impact. Chauncey Billups agreed, benching him midseason in 2024-25 for his lack of defense. The Blazers were even better off after Sharpe's demotion, as it played a role in their surprising end-of-season push to wind up in the play-in conversation.
Fortunately, Sharpe has done a good job of addressing these concerns at just 22 years old. His positional size at 6-foot-5 and top-tier athleticism always suggested he had the physical tools to become a versatile, net positive defender. And while he's not quite at that point yet, he's at least shown tremendous progress in that aspect, giving the Blazers reason for optimism.
Still, we all know Sharpe's upside is closely tied to his offensive impact. He already has the highest usage rate on Portland's entire roster (31.3%), surprisingly above Deni Avdija (28.7%). Sharpe has taken on an increased offensive load amid Portland's ongoing injury crisis, particularly in the backcourt. He's handled that responsibility well, keeping their offense afloat without compromising his efficiency.
Becoming a more consistent three-level scorer will continue to go a long way in that regard. And while his 33.7% from deep is still below league average at the position, the main thing that matters for Portland at this point in his career is progress. From that standpoint, the Blazers have to be thrilled with their investment.
Sharpe has officially overcome a rough shooting slump to start the season. In his 14 games in December, he shot 44% from beyond the arc. He's carried that momentum into 2026, looking much closer to the version of himself that was recognized as the standout performer in training camp.
If Sharpe can continue improving his defense and shooting, this extension is going to look like a team-friendly deal. The Blazers were wise to get ahead of his long-anticipated breakout season, which appears to have finally arrived.