A New Prospect is Eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft and could be in the Mix for the #1 Pick

Major news circulated the draft world on January 20, 2021, at 1:48 PM ET. Shaedon Sharpe, a Kentucky commit who took his senior year of high school basketball off, is now eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft. According to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.

Why is this Important?

Before Shaedon Sharpe decided to not play his senior year of high school, he was the #1 player on ESPN’s class of 2022 high school prospects rankings. With Sharpe now potentially being eligible for the 2022 NBA Draft, even though he is currently sixth on ESPN’s top NBA Draft Big Board, it is hard for me to envision a scenario where Sharpe doesn’t get consideration at the top of the draft, along with Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith and Chet Holmgren.

Not to spoil a future big board article for League Alerts (rankings could easily change), but Sharpe is going to initially be third on my draft board, with the opportunity to move all the way up to first. At 6’5″ with a rumored seven foot wingspan, stout frame, explosiveness, Sharpe is an incredibly gifted prospect, physically. To add to that, he has the tools to be a three level scorer with his deep range, dynamic slashing, and ability to get to his spots with ease. There are some similarities to Anthony Edwards here, that is the kind of prospect we are talking about.

With there not being much of a consensus at the top of the draft this year, adding Shaedon Sharpe to the mix will certainly make things more interesting. The top of this draft is very promising, the top eight of this draft is as strong as its been in years. When talking about Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, AJ Griffin, Shaedon Sharpe, Jabari Smith, Jaden Ivey, Johnny Davis, and Ty Ty Washington, there is a great variety of talent with true star potential. It is going to be interesting to see how much confidence these college prospects give to NBA scouts for the rest of the regular season, postseason, and beyond because if Shaedon Sharpe does declare for the draft this year, if he doesn’t play for Kentucky this season, the Draft Combine will likely have great say on where he ends up.