Former UNC standout Day’Ron Sharpe is officially headed to the NBA, as the Phoenix Suns drafted him on Thursday night.

The 6-foot-11 Greenville, N.C. native was taken 29th overall, the second-to-last pick in the first round, after a strong year off the bench for the Tar Heels in the 2020-21 season.

As part of a trade agreed upon in principle earlier in the night, the Suns agreed to trade the 29th overall pick, as well as guard Jevon Carter, to the Brooklyn Nets. While the trade will not be made official until the start of the new NBA year, it mean Sharpe will very likely end up in Brooklyn instead of Phoenix.

With Sharpe’s selection, 54 former UNC players have now been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. With Kentucky’s Isiah Jackson taken with pick #22 in earlier in the evening, the Tar Heels still trail the Wildcats by one for the highest number of first-round selections for players.

Sharpe becomes the 118th former Tar Heel to be drafted into the NBA. It places UNC third in all-time players taken in the draft, as they trail Kentucky and UCLA.

A former five-star recruit, Sharpe averaged 9.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, largely coming off the bench during his lone season in Chapel Hill. He led the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and garnered the second-most votes for the ACC Rookie of the Year award. Sharpe announced his plans to turn professional in March, shortly after the Tar Heels’ ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The first-round selection of Sharpe marks the final draft pick of former UNC head coach Roy Williams, who retired from leading the program in April. Between his time coaching the Kansas Jayhawks and the Tar Heels, Williams saw 32 former players taken in the first round of the NBA Draft. That mark puts him third all-time behind Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Kentucky head coach John Calipari, according to ESPN’s Bryan Ives.

Williams attended Thursday night’s draft party hosted by Sharpe and his family, as reported by C.L. Brown of the News & Observer.

The estimated first-round contract for the 29th pick in the first round of the NBA Draft is projected to be approximately $10.3 million, which is guaranteed, according to ESPN front office expert Bobby Marks.

Photo via ACC Media/Maggie Boulton.

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