Nets' Michael Porter Jr. Believes Day'Ron Sharpe is Starting Caliber Center

The NBA traditionally favored big men until about a decade ago, as the game has become smaller and more perimeter-oriented.

Many big men have had to adapt their games to fit with this current timeline. Nikola Jokic carved his niche as an elite playmaker, Joel Embiid developed guard-like driving skills and Karl-Anthony Towns became arguably the best 3-point shooting big man of all time.

The Brooklyn Nets are well aware of this trend, although they have helped two big men with more traditional skill sets adapt to the modern NBA.

Nic Claxton came into the league as a raw but athletic prospect. He eventually turned into one of the better big men in the NBA due to his ability to push the ball up the court, attack the rim, guard multiple positions, and find his open teammates for clean looks.

Day'Ron Sharpe has primarily operated as a back up big man, but he's improved his body physique, mobility and ability to finish at the rim considerably since coming into the league.

“Day'Day's a beast," Michael Porter Jr. said. "He's a starting five in the NBA. But we have two starting fives: Clax and him. So, it's good that when Clax is out, you can put Day in there, and there's no drop-off. They both can make passes, they both can finish around the rim, they both rebound, they both defend. Day'Day plays very, very hard, and we needed everything he gave tonight. He's a great locker room guy. I'm very fortunate to be able to play on a team with two big men who are as good as him and Clax.”

Both Nets bigs have had the luxury of learning from a one-time NBA All-Star.

“Day'Ron is always willing to do the right things," Fernandez said. "He keeps getting better and growing. I think that the work that Juwan Howard has done with [Claxton and Sharpe] is priceless. Obviously, somebody who's done it at the highest level ever. You just see how these guys keep growing and getting better. And a lot of times, you need a little bit of tough love, sometimes you need support, and I think Juwan has been amazing. Those guys now, you can see how much they've grown and where they're at, and we still think that there's a lot more room to improve.”

Considering the load big men have to carry each night, this should be considered a good problem to have.