Shaedon Sharpe will determine how successful this Blazers rebuild ultimately becomes. Heading into year four, there's reason to believe he will live up to the somewhat nebulous label of shot-creating offensive hub, and plenty of reasons to be concerned that he won't. Sharpe, the No. 7 overall pick in 2022, has become somewhat overlooked around the NBA, even among Blazers fans. That isn't because fans don't like Sharpe; he's just been cast aside somewhat for other young prospects who have either already "popped," like Toumani Camara, or who possess the ever-alluring potential of someone who we haven't actually seen yet, like Yang Hansen.
Still, the best version of Shaedon Sharpe is the kind of player teams build around, and him fully realizing his talent is the most consequential story to follow for the Blazers. That's why Sharpe remains the skeleton key in the PNW — and why 2025-26 is such a massively important year for him personally.
Shaedon Sharpe still has a long way to go
Let's start with the ultra-zoomed out analysis of Sharpe: he just turned 22 years old, averaged a career-high in points per game last season, and has the offensive creation chops to be the first option in an NBA offense. His efficiency (55% true shooting, 51.9% eFG) isn't stellar, but it's good enough at this point in his career. His rim finishing (75.5% within three feet) is already phenomenal and is even more impressive given his 6-foot-5 profile.
That all sounds really great.
Unfortunately, the areas of concern are as noteworthy as the areas he excels in. Sharpe's defense is virtually nonexistent, from both an on-ball and team perspective. His facilitation has improved marginally in his first three seasons, but he's still not a consistently good (or even average) passer. His 3-point shooting has declined each season, and he shot just 31.1% from deep last year. He doesn't always seem to be fully engaged and disappears on the court more often than the Blazers would like, which led to him coming off the bench for a stretch last season.
Sharpe, Toumani Camara, and Deni Avdija could be Portland's Big 3
Shaedon Sharpe has plenty of struggles. But his biggest strength is basically the most important skill in the NBA; the ability to create offense by himself. Only 40% of Sharpe's two-point baskets were assisted last season, and 70% of his 3-pointers. And that's why, despite not being the best player (or even best young player) on the team right now, the path to stardom is easy to see. When a guy can get to the basket by himself or create space for a shot consistently, he becomes the focal point of an offense rather than a complementary piece.
Toumani Camara has a chance to be among the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. He's already gaining league-wide respect after making All-Defense last season. I don't want to downplay that. That's a massively important archetype too, and right now Toumani is perhaps the most important player on this Blazers team. He might continue to be that, too, and even if Shaedon does pop off, the two can (and should) happily coexist on the wings for the Blazers, serving as a thrilling offensive and defensive combination.
Deni Avdija, meanwhile, was the most impactful player on the Blazers after a career year in 2024-25. His on-ball defense and knack for being a connector on offense were both massive additions to the Blazers and this team's offense would suffer greatly without his presence. Like Camara, right now, Avdija provides more to the Blazers than Sharpe does. But Avdija's lack of side-to-side speed and average change of direction agility put a ceiling on his scoring output — a ceiling that Sharpe doesn't have.
So, while you'd be correct to state that Camara and Avdija are better than Shaedon Sharpe in 2025, I have no idea how well that statement will age in, say, 2029. If everything goes according to plan with Sharpe, he'll be a Donovan Mitchell-esque player by then. If that happens, then the star search for Portland would already be complete... and that would make everything a whole lot easier. If Avdija and Camara keep leveling up too, then suddenly the Blazers have a trio of players who can lead a winning team. And that's what all this is about, right?
If Sharpe doesn't become the guy the Blazers expect him to, it dramatically lowers the potential of the Blazers young core. It doesn't totally throw things off course; Camara, Avdija, Donovan Clingan, and perhaps Yang Hansen are still the start of something promising. But that would be a core without a centerpiece — Sharpe, in the right universe, becomes that centerpiece.