In his second NBA Summer League contest, Sharife Cooper continued to flash his knack for the spectacular with his second noteworthy dish in as many days.
Cooper turned Las Vegas into lob city with an alley-oop toss that brought Auburn basketball fans nostalgic thoughts about the days (while ever so brief) of Cooper tossing lobs to the likes of JT Thor, Jaylin Williams, and Devan Cambridge.
Against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, Cooper found fellow rookie Jalen Johnson for a spectacular jam in the second quarter of the Atlanta Hawks’ second NBA Las Vegas Summer League contest.
Watch and revel in the glory of Cooper’s wizardry with the ball in his hands translating to the next level:
Sharife Cooper tosses it up top to Jalen Johnson! #NBASummer@ATLHawks lead at the break on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/FgqnzmAtrM
— NBA (@NBA) August 10, 2021
Cooper was the #48 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and, inititally, some saw him as a potential lottery talent. That said, on draft night, he continued to see his name fall down draft boards. Teams like the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers were in on the former Auburn Tiger, but ultimately he landed with his hometown Atlanta Hawks.
As for Johnson, the former Duke Blue Devil saw a slide down draft boards himself, though not as drastic as Cooper’s. Johnson opted out of the 2020-21 season for Duke, a farcry from Cooper’s situation.
Of course Cooper’s career was cut short by eligibility issues…and it probably cost him money. It looks like the former 5-star recruit could be looking to earn that back with his spectacular play.
Whether or not he can maintain his level of performance when the games count is unclear, but Cooper is overcoming fears about his height and ball-handling early on this summer during the Summer League.