Brooklyn Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe received his first start of the season on Wednesday against the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. With Nic Claxton serving a one-game suspension, Sharpe was Brooklyn's only available center. He turned out to be their best player.

The 24-year-old posted a career-high 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from three and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line with 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks during a 129-121 loss. He finished a team-best +20 in 31 minutes.

After dominating one of the NBA's top teams, Sharpe offered a confident take on how he stacks up against the league's centers.

“I'm just a beast on the boards. I don't really think nobody can mess with me in the paint when it comes to that,” he said. “Like tell y'all every time, no matter how big, no matter how tall [my opponent is], it’s just what I do. You’re gonna have to send three people to box me out. I just play hard.”

Sharpe joined Derrick Coleman as the only players in Nets franchise history with 25-plus points, 15-plus rebounds, multiple steals, multiple blocks and multiple threes made in a game. He and Victor Wembanyama are the only players to accomplish the feat this season.

After cracking the Nets' rotation last season, Sharpe has elevated his game to another level in 2024-25.

Day'Ron Sharpe makes Nets history during career night vs. Thunder

Brooklyn Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe (20) looks to drive past Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) in the third quarter at Barclays Center.
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Sharpe missed the first six weeks of the season due to a hamstring strain. But following a brief acclimation period, he's looked like a starting-caliber center.

The 2021 first-round pick has averaged 10.8 points on 62.4 percent shooting with 7.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks in 18.2 minutes per game over his last 12 appearances. He and Ivica Zubac are the NBA's only players averaging over 10 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block on 60 percent shooting or better during that span.

“I just feel it's always been who I am,” Sharpe said of his recent play. “Jordi [Fernandez], Steve [Hetzel], [Deividas] Dulkys, Juwan [Howard] just give me confidence. They’re not really the type of coaches who tell you not to do this, not to do that, or you're coming out… So just having my coaches have confidence in me, my teammates have confidence in me. They always tell me ‘Day, go, you got this. We've seen you do this.' So I just feel like it’s just the atmosphere.”

Sharpe has continued to dominate the boards this season, leading the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage among players averaging over 15 minutes per game. However, his improvements in other areas have turned heads across the league.

Article Continues Below
Related Brooklyn Nets News
Julius Randle playing for the Timberwolves. T-Wolves logo in background.
Ranking 3 best Julius Randle free-agency destinations if he leaves TimberwolvesBailey Bassett ·
image thumbnail
Nets hosting sleeper prospect for pre-draft workout after stellar combine performanceErik Slater ·
Cam Johnson number 2 photoshopped in Spurs jersey.
Spurs offseason trade proposal for Cam Johnson involving lottery pickBailey Bassett ·
Cam Johnson (with his jersey number), photoshopped in Rockets jersey.
Rockets trade proposal for Cam Johnson as Nets pursue lottery pickBailey Bassett ·
image thumbnail
Nets assistant among finalists for Suns head coach positionErik Slater ·
Cam Johnson NBA trade deadline
Nets rumors: How Cam Johnson trade could result in another lottery pickJulian Ojeda ·

He's looked increasingly comfortable operating as a hub in the halfcourt offense. The fourth-year center is assisting on 15.1 percent of his teammates' made shots during his minutes, placing him in the 77th percentile among NBA big men, per CleaningTheGlass. His shooting touch has improved dramatically of late, as he's converted 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) free-throws and 5-of-7 three-point attempts over his last 12 games.

Sharpe also looks noticeably nimbler defensively after an offseason focused on improving his physique. The bruising center has been effective while hedging and recovering or playing drop coverage against pick-and-rolls. The same goes for running in transition off defensive rebounds.

“Shout out to the Performance Team. Since Day 1,” Sharpe said. “Chris Miller’s not here no more, but shout out to him. He helped me out a lot with my running. And Alvin [Dike] helped me out a lot with trying to flip my hips getting low. So just the whole three years, the last three summers, just buying into that and being with the performance team. That's really helping me, you know. I'm just gonna continue to work.”

Sharpe's all-around improvement has translated to teamwide success. The Nets are outscoring opponents by 14.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor, the third-highest net rating swing among all NBA players to play over 500 minutes, behind only Nikola Jokic and Dorian Finney-Smith.

“Day'Ron did a great job and it's good to see that he gets those minutes,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said after the Thunder loss. “I'm extremely proud of him. How hard he played and how committed he was. Those are learning experiences for all of us. It's good to see that he can show me that he started and he's done so well against a very good team. It's not just good for him, but also his teammates can see it. That's how you build trust.”

Sharpe is one of several restricted free agents the Nets will face decisions on this summer. While cap space is scarce around the league, his recent play could land him offers approaching the full mid-level exception ($14.8M).

League sources told ClutchPoints that Sharpe was drawing interest from numerous teams leading up to the trade deadline, but Brooklyn was ultimately content to hold onto him.

The Nets committed a four-year, $97 million contract to Nic Claxton last offseason. However, Sharpe's play this season has closed what was once perceived as a large gap between the two big men. If the 24-year-old can build upon his improvement to close the year, Brooklyn could face a decision at its starting center position in the not so distant future.

“Right now, I’m very happy with how hard Day'Ron's playing and how his body is changing so and so forth. He’s done a great job,” Fernandez said. “He's playing [on the same team] with Nic Claxton. I’m not going 1995 NBA basketball and playing with two bigs… So right now, they have to be working together [as a] tag team. Getting to the minutes he’s playing; he’s done a great job. And yes, I want to see him increase those minutes. That means he’s pushing Nic and Nic is pushing him.”