Emmanuel Sharp was selected early Wednesday morning in the second round of the NBA draft, going 45th overall to the Sacramento Kings. Unlike first-round picks, second-round selections do not automatically receive guaranteed NBA contracts. Noam Yaacov was not selected.
Sharp, 22, finished his college career at the University of Houston with a career-best season. The guard started all 37 games for the Cougars and averaged 15.5 points, 3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals, while shooting 37.2% from three and 89.1% from the free-throw line. He made 97 three-pointers and was one of Houston’s two leading scorers, while also standing out as a strong defender. If he reaches the NBA, he would become the second Israeli ever to play for Sacramento, after Omri Casspi.
Houston went 30-7 overall and 14-4 in the Big 12, reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, and lost to Illinois. It was the program’s fifth straight 30-win season and seventh straight Sweet 16 appearance. Sharp was named to the Big 12’s All-Conference First Team and All-Defense Team, underscoring his status as one of the most complete and respected guards in college basketball.
Yaacov, 21, moved this summer to Ostend in Belgium and had his first breakout season as a lead player for a top European team. The point guard averaged 17.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 24.9 minutes across all competitions, shooting 47.3% from the field, 35.9% from three and 78% from the line. In the BNXT League, shared by Belgium and the Netherlands, he averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 assists in the regular season and was one of the league’s standout players. Ostend won the Supercup but finished runner-up in the Belgian playoffs after losing to Antwerp, and it was eliminated in the FIBA Champions League group stage, although Yaacov was a bright spot with 15 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7 assists per game in six matches. He was a BNXT MVP candidate and was named Player of the Month for March.
The article also explains that second-round NBA picks can negotiate various kinds of deals, including standard, partially guaranteed, non-guaranteed, two-way, or draft-rights arrangements, and that later second-round picks are more likely to end up on two-way contracts or continue elsewhere. It cites Yam Madar, selected 47th by Boston, as an example of a player who was drafted but never reached the NBA.
