Raptors bring in 7-foot-5 G League defensive star Jamarion Sharp to chase a two-way spot

The Toronto Raptors have added Jamarion Sharp, the 7-foot-5 center who was named the G League’s Defensive Player of the Year last season, giving him a training-camp shot at one of the club’s two-way spots. The team welcomed Sharp publicly on Monday, October 12, a few hours after Blake Murphy of Sportsnet reported the agreement.

The move puts one of the tallest players in professional basketball into a frontcourt competition with a week left before the regular season, and it brings Sharp back to a team that already knows him well from the summer.

Toronto has not released the terms. According to Murphy’s report as summarized by Hoops Rumors, Sharp is expected to sign an Exhibit 10 contract, the camp deal that can be turned into a two-way agreement. He qualifies for a two-way contract because he has yet to appear in an NBA regular-season game.

October 12 update: Toronto waived Chucky Hepburn in the corresponding move, TSN reported after the team announced Sharp’s signing. Hoops Rumors also reported the waiver, citing Blake Murphy. The earlier version of this article said the corresponding cut had not been named; that is no longer current.

Sharp is competing for a two-way contract. His camp signing does not by itself confirm a two-way conversion or regular-season roster place.

A shot-blocker still looking for his first NBA game

Sharp, 25, went undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2024 after leading the NCAA in blocks twice at Western Kentucky. He has spent most of the two years since with the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate, after the Mavericks waived him at the end of two straight camps on Exhibit 10 deals. Last season he blocked a league-leading 3.9 shots per game in just under 25 minutes a night and made the G League All-Defensive team on top of the defensive award.

The Raptors saw him up close in July. Sharp played five Summer League games for Toronto and averaged 7.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 18.2 minutes, and the club weighed a two-way offer then before passing. The Los Angeles Clippers gave him a two-way contract on August 7, but Jake Fischer reported on September 25 that they planned to release him, and he was waived later that month without making his debut.

What comes next

• Tuesday, October 13: Knicks at Raptors, Scotiabank Arena (Game Center)
• Thursday, October 15: Raptors at Knicks, Madison Square Garden (Game Center)
• Friday, October 16: Raptors at Pistons, preseason finale (Game Center)

Whether Sharp is available against New York on Tuesday has not been announced. The corresponding roster cut has been made, but a two-way conversion for Sharp has not been announced in the reports.