The Atlanta Hawks have selected Auburn guard Sharife Cooper with the No. 48 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Cooper, once thought of as a potential top-20 pick, slipped down the board this evening. Cooper is an Atlanta native and played high school basketball at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, GA.
The Hawks seemingly stuck to their best player available strategy tonight following the selections of Jalen Johnson at No. 20 and Cooper at 48. Both players were once viewed as potential lottery picks, and will now be heading to Atlanta after slipping down the board.
Cooper will compete for backup point guard minutes with either Lou Williams or another veteran the Hawks would presumably add in free agency if they do not retain Williams.
Cooper is rather raw overall, but has a ton of talent and some believe he was the best passer in the 2021 class. Getting him at No. 48 certainly seems like a bargain, and he was definitely the best player on the board in the eyes of a lot of people around the league.
Cooper, along with Johnson, will presumably be in Las Vegas to play in Summer League barring some sort of unknown injury.
Stay tuned.
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