Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe — quietly as effective as any player on their roster — will miss the rest of this season.
Sharpe, 24, was diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his left thumb and will require season-ending surgery.
“He’s in good spirits,” coach Jordi Fernández said of Sharpe before Thursday’s game in Atlanta. “Obviously, we would love to have him playing because these games and minutes are valuable for everybody’s development.
“But I’m very happy with what I’ve seen from Day’Ron, the hard work he put in the summer and how much better he’s gotten. So obviously we wouldn’t want to see that (injury), but we know it’s fixable and we’ll go and do surgery. Then we’ll have a timetable after he gets done.”
The news will come as a tough blow for Brooklyn and the young center, who was peaking in the midst of a career year.
Sharpe finishes his campaign averaging 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 62 games, all career bests. While Sharpe has been behind starter Nic Claxton on the depth chart, his absence will be a huge loss for the Nets.
Without Sharpe on Thursday night, Brooklyn used a makeshift lineup and lost 108-97 in Atlanta.
The Nets (17-49) are fourth in the lottery standings, two games behind the Pacers. They trail Sacramento by 1 ½ and Washington by ½ game.
Josh Minott led the way with 24 points, 4-of-7 from deep and three steals — all career highs.
“We’re asking him to pressure the ball, to pick up full court, and he did an amazing job,” Fernández said of Minott. “He’s trying to do everything we ask him to do. You see the size, he’s going to let it fly, and those things are positive. So I’m excited to watch him play.”
Brooklyn has outscored opponents by seven more points per 100 possessions with Sharpe on the floor vs. off, the best mark on the team and sixth best among 35 centers who had logged over 1,100 minutes this season, per Cleaning The Glass.
Sharpe has been among the Nets’ best players, ranking seventh in the NBA in offensive rebounds per 100 possessions and 12th in steals.
“[He gives] a ton of effort,” said Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “He’s got great size, he plays extremely hard, he’s physical on the interior, he doesn’t back down, he’s got the ability to stretch the floor and make 3s.
“But I think the thing that stands out when you watch the tape is just the effort that he puts forth. And when you mix that effort with that size and skill, he can create problems for you on both ends of the floor.”
Sharpe showed that Saturday against Bickerstaff’s Pistons, helping key the fifth-biggest rally in team history. While Claxton was getting dominated by Jalen Duren, Sharpe had 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in 21 minutes, including nine points and five boards in the fourthquarter.
Then Sharpe had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 18 minutes off the bench against Memphis. But he aggravated a preexisting thumb injury in Monday’s win, and now is lost for the season.
“[He got hurt] the Memphis game,” said Fernández. “I mean, I know that it was bothering him, but then I saw him grabbing his hand, and that’s why I had him subbed out to look at it And that’s when it all happened.”
The Nets re-signed Sharpe last summer on a team-friendly, two-year, $12.5 million deal. It includes a team option for next season at a guaranteed $6.25 million, but that would run the risk of letting him hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2027. Brooklyn could opt to preemptively give him an extension this offseason.
They would be wise to do so.
“He’s awesome,” gushed Nets rookie Danny Wolf. “He’s so fun to play with. He makes everything so easy. And you can put any shot up there and he’s gonna have a good chance to get on the boards.
“And elite defensively. He can switch, he can plan a drop. And you get a glimpse into it every day, and he continues to prove his worth and just how good he is and what he brings to the table every day.”
Without another proven pure center to back up Claxton, Wolf and springy Josh Minott could be in the mix to try to fill those shoes.
In addition to Sharpe, Egor Dëmin, Michael Porter Jr., Nolan Traore and Ziaire Willams were all out in Atlanta.
Ben Saraf (10 points), Drake Powell (11 points), Wolf (eight points), Noah Clowney (10 points) and Claxton (eight points) started in the loss to the Hawks, who won their eighth straight.
“Yeah, opportunity for everybody,” Fernández said. “The exciting part is to give a look to guys that haven’t played as much.”