The Portland Trail Blazers might be at the center of the biggest gambling scandal the NBA has ever seen, but make no mistake about it, their young core is improving at a rapid rate. One of the most prominent members of that aforementioned core is Shaedon Sharpe, the seventh overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. Sharpe is best known for his incredible feats of athleticism, but he's been quietly expanding his game — emerging as a more dangerous all-around scorer with each passing season.
In fact, Sharpe notched a scoring feat that not even Blazers legend and arguable GOAT Damian Lillard reached. According to the official Blazers account on X (formerly Twitter), Sharpe became the youngest player in franchise history to score 1,000 field goals, at 22 years and 151 days old.
Of course, Lillard did make his NBA debut when he was already 22 years of age, as he was an older rookie after spending four years at Weber State. Now, Lillard's decision to stay all four years in college paid off, as he was a polished product already by the time he reached the league, and he was already a 19-point scorer in his rookie campaign.
Lillard reached 1,000 field goals quicker for his career than Sharpe did, needing only two seasons to do so. (Sharpe is in his fourth season as a pro.) It has taken Sharpe quite some time to establish himself as an undisputed starter and major part of the Blazers' offense, but now, it's all systems go for the young highflyer, especially when the Blazers signed him to a huge contract extension prior to the start of the new campaign.
The 2025-26 season has not gone very smoothly for Sharpe thus far; he's shooting 28.8 percent from the field through his first four games of the season, although that suggests that there's nowhere to go for him but up.
Blazers look to put up winning 2025-26 campaign
The Blazers have built such an incredible defensive core, with Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, and Deni Avdija comprising an impressive defensive backbone. It's on offense where Portland needs help, although a breakout year from Avdija and a bounce-back campaign from Holiday would help massively. Lillard's eventual return next season would help a lot as well in getting this Portland squad to the next level.
At present, the Blazers are in control of their Monday night contest against the severely shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers, leading 89-77 after three quarters.
