Portland Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe out for the rest of Summer League with left shoulder injury
Rookie Shaedon Sharpe, the Portland Trail Blazers' No. 7 selection in June's draft, will miss the remainder of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas with a left shoulder injury after playing 5½ minutes in his debut.
An MRI on Friday revealed that Sharpe suffered a small labral tear, and he will be reevaluated in 10-14 days.
Blazers franchise centerpiece Damian Lillard, who recently agreed to a two-year, $122 million contract extension, said in an interview during the game that Sharpe is "super talented" and that it would serve him well to prove his high draft status in the Summer League.
"When you're picked that high, you just got to have that pride about going out there and showing people why and living up to being that high of a pick," Lillard said.
The Ontario, Canada, native was widely considered a mystery NBA draft prospect after enrolling at college basketball powerhouse Kentucky in January but never appearing in a game.
At Kentucky, he participated with the team as a practice player, and Wildcats head coach John Calipari expected him to return for the 2022-23 college season. His last competitive game action was in 2021 for Dream City Christian in Glendale, Arizona.
Sharpe, 19, was the seventh-youngest player eligible in this year's draft. In his final year of high school, he reclassified to become the consensus No. 1-ranked prospect for the class of 2022.