The Washington Wizards have assembled an intriguing mix of young players with potential for the 2025-26 season. With two-way contracts, NBA teams are able to keep tabs on young players they are interested in without having to use a standard roster spot. The Wizards made such a roster move this weekend with the late offseason signing of Sharife Cooper to a two-way contract, as per Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.com.
Under a two-way contract, Sharife Cooper is allowed a maximum of 50 NBA games on the Wizards roster, while spending the rest of his time in the G League with the Capital City Go-Go. His signing gives the Wizards a full complement of two-way contract players with Tristan Vukcevic and Jamir Watkins being the other designated two-way players.
Cooper finds himself back on an NBA roster after bouncing around different leagues the past couple of seasons. The No. 48 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Cooper has yet to be able to stick in the NBA.
He played one season with the Hawks on a two-way contract before the organization opted to cut him ahead of the 2022-23 season. He had a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2023-24 season on a 10-day contract, and has split time in the G League and overseas otherwise.
In total, Cooper has appeared in only 13 NBA games, and that was during his rookie season in 2021-22 with the Hawks. His best game statistically came against the Los Angeles Lakers back in Jan. 2022 when he scored three points off a single three-point shot. He did not appear in any games during his 10-day stint with the Cavaliers.
Cooper was one of the most highly-touted prospects when he was in high school. He was a five-star recruit and a McDonald’s All-American, and was named USA Today All-USA Player of the Year and Mr. Georgia Basketball by the time he graduated high school. He committed to Auburn, and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in his lone season with the Tigers.
