Day’Ron Sharpe spoke to the media for the first time since tearing an ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. He has not played since March 9th and will miss the rest of the Brooklyn Nets’ season — their last 18 games in total.
“I thought this season was another year of me showing growth, so I’m just trying to build off that and continue to show growth,” said Sharpe.
He might be understating it. Playing 62 games, he posted a career-high in FG%, as well as minutes/points/rebounds/assists per game in his
fifth year in the league But a quick glance at his box-scores likely undersells it — Day’Ron has morphed into one of the most impactful reserves in the NBA, noticeable in the games where he gets big minutes…
As I wrote in January:
Advanced metrics (a 77th percentile EPM this season, top-60 marks in DARKO, LEBRON, multi-year RAPM) are screaming out that Day’Ron Sharpe is, like MPJ stated, an impact starter hiding in plain sight. This is largely because Sharpe helps the Nets dominate the possession game: We know he is one of the league’s very best offensive rebounders, but with career-best defensive rebounding numbers and an absurd 3% steal rate, Sharpe’s defensive impact has skyrocketed.
Sharpe also cleaned up one of his biggest bug-a-boos in 2025-26: finishing around the rim. After four seasons of low 60s percentages in the restricted area, Sharpe made 72% of those looks this season, per Cleaning the Glass. We may expect some future regression to the mean, but for now, that is a massive improvement for the 24-year-old, placing him among the likes of Jalen Duren and Ivica Zubac (and for now, ahead of Nic Claxton).
He has credited much of his improvement to working with Assistant Coach Juwan Howard, who has been on Jordi Fernández’s staff for the last two years: “The fact that he played in the paint so, he has just a good knowledge of the area, and I think he’s helping me, trying to develop my game that way, giving me pointers over the last couple seasons. I try to ask him a lot of questions all the time whenever I get a chance. Always trying to pick his brain about anything.”
As for the summer, Sharpe says he is focused on continuing to improve his body — with regard to both conditioning and explosiveness — and doesn’t anticipate his thumb recovery will hinder that.
“I’ll say that just because you’re hurt doesn’t mean it’s, you know, trying to feel sorry for yourself … When I hurt my wrist, I was just doing left-hand dribbling, left-hand layups, left-hand dunks. Everything, just left hand. So like, in my head I’m getting better. Even though I can’t use my right hand, I’m still getting better.”
There is another big question that faces Sharpe this summer, though, and he predictably did not say much about that on Friday: “Whatever the team has in plan for me, that’s what they got.”
Indeed, the Nets have a $6 million team option on Sharpe’s contract, but given his recent success, it seems plausible that the team could decline that option and instead ink Sharpe to a long-term extension. Over the past three seasons, the team has been nearly nine points per 100 possessions better with their backup big on the court.
Said Jordi Fernández: “For the two years that I’ve worked with him, I’m very, very happy. Not just the work ethic and the production, but also the type of person that we have in the locker room. He’s — I know you guys know this — but he’s got a big personality. He fills the room. Everybody loves him, and that’s important for a group, you know, that energy. And he cares and he wants to compete, he wants to get better, and I think the sky’s the limit for him right now.”
It’s tough to disagree, considering the remarkable improvements the man they call Day’Day has made over the years. Recall Media Day 2023, just before his third NBA season, where former head coach Jacque Vaughn announced he would play Sharpe in the regular rotation, which was no small leap of faith.
Three seasons later, there are still remain questions about his true defensive impact: Opponents have shot much worse from three with him on the court over the last three years, possibly artificially inflating his on/offs. When Sharpe checks in for Claxton, the Nets give up more points at the rim.
And yet, they consistently win the possession game with Sharpe on the court. He hustles, he scraps, he rebounds, and he steals the rock…
It’s tough to overstate Sharpe’s development. Now a fairly mobile big, he can switch onto ball-handlers, or hedge/trap and recover, playing the aggressive pick-and-roll coverages Fernández frequents, not to mention his improved positioning in drop coverage.
Similarly, Sharpe’s ideal role on offense is not so clear-cut. While his finishing has improved, he is not quite a typical rim-runner, lacking a bit of the explosion and reach a great lob threat possesses. He has also thrown some nice passes out of the short-roll in his career, and this season, he got to operate as a hub from the top of the key…
Jordi Fernández probably wants some improvement on Sharpe’s 1.37 assist:turnover ratio in this role, but if his big man continues to finish this well and be one of the best offensive rebounders in the NBA, there’s not much to complain about.
Or, as Fernández put it: “I’m not really worried, because if he continues with his strength, everything is going to work out.”
