With the 2021 NBA Draft in the books, we are now armed with the information of where Auburn basketball stars Sharife Cooper and JT Thor will be headed in the pros.
Both will stay relatively local, as Thor was selected at the #35 pick and later traded to the Charlotte Hornets by the Detroit Pistons and Sharife Cooper will head back to his home city of Atlanta to play for the Hawks after being taken with the #48 pick.
The duo was expected to go in the first round, with both looking like potential lottery picks not all that long ago. Dropping to the second round will cost them money, but shouldn’t cost either an opportunity to compete for minutes in 2021 and beyond.
Either way, there are two more Tigers in the pros, and the Auburn basketball NBA legacy expands.
Here are 5 more takeaways from Sharife Cooper’s and JT Thor’s NBA Draft:
Sharife Cooper landed with the ideal team
The ATL-born Cooper was blessed to end up with the Hawks for several reasons beyond the homecoming angle.
First, he’s joining a team that has perhaps more room for upward mobility than any other team in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta just fell two games shy of the NBA Finals and could have perhaps seen things play out differently had Trae Young been healthy the whole season.
Speaking of which, Young can work directly with Cooper and help him transition to the pros as an undersized floor general. Given his excitement over the Hawks drafting Cooper, it’s likely he’ll be a willing helping hand.
JT Thor could compete for minutes right away
The Charlotte Hornets made several moves to shore up their frontcourt on Thursday night. Not only did they land JT Thor, but they also traded for Mason Plumlee from the Detroit Pistons in the same deal that landed the #35 pick they used on Thor.
Despite the presence of P.J. Washington, Miles Bridges, Plumlee, and Jalen McDaniels, Thor has a chance to get minutes early for a few reasons.
The first is the franchise’s likely desire to have role players grow alongside LaMelo Ball. The Ball-Thor pairing has endless lob potential between the two. The second is the potential for a deal involving either Washington or Bridges. After Charlotte fell out of the postseason picture last season, there could be changes coming to maximize the time Gordon Hayward is under contract, and clearing out the big man rotation only benefits Thor.
Sharife Cooper’s minutes depend on Lou Williams decision
Whereas JT Thor is more of a plug-and-play option, Sharife Cooper may take more time to develop into an NBA player due to his defense, which needs work, and propensity to turn the ball over, which needs a ton of work.
Cooper isn’t a radical departure from Trae Young with his playmaking and ability to dictate the pace of a game, but he probably isn’t NBA ready for a Hawks team looking to replicate their 2020-21 success…unless Atlanta loses Lou Williams to free agency or retirement.
In that case, Cooper could be in line for minutes.
Auburn basketball makes history in 2021…but could make more in 2022
For the first time in over 20 years, there were two Auburn basketball products selected in the NBA Draft. In 2000, Mamadou Ndiaye and Chris Porter were both selected, with Ndiaye going #26 to the Denver Nuggets.
This time around, both Thor and Cooper were selected in the second round, but they arguably have more buzz surrounding them than Ndiaye anyway. The level of competition in the NBA these days dictates that even second-rounders were collegiate stars.
Perhaps next year could see two first-round picks from the Plains for the first time in history, with Jabari Smith, Walker Kessler, and KD Johnson all ranked 4-stars or higher as recruits.
Sharife Cooper and JT Thor might have been better off staying at Auburn
While FWE is happy to see both guys in the NBA now, there’s definitely a thought that waiting one more year could have done Sharife Cooper and JT Thor wonders.
The 2021-22 Auburn basketball team could have been a preseason favorite and possibly first-time National Champions in school history. They still can be–Jabari Smith is that good–but that road would have been far easier with Cooper and Thor in tow.