Raptors sign G League defensive player of the year Jamarion Sharp
The seven-foot-five centre was the G League's top defender last season and will join the team's training camp.
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors have signed centre Jamarion Sharp, the NBA club announced on Monday.
In a corresponding move, the team waived guard Chucky Hepburn.
The 25-year-old Sharp, who stands seven-foot-five and weighs 235 pounds, was named the NBA G League Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 7.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 blocks and 25.1 minutes in 39 games (29 starts) with the Texas Legends last season.
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He led the league with 154 blocked shots.
Sharp scored in double figures in 14 games, grabbed 10-plus rebounds 12 times and had six double-doubles.
He also blocked five or more shots in 15 contests, including a season-high nine on Nov. 21 against Oklahoma City.
The Raptors did not disclose the terms of the deal.
According to Sportsnet's Blake Murphy, Sharp has not yet been signed to a two-way contract by Toronto.
He is joining the team's training camp for an audition.
Sharp was previously with Toronto's Summer League squad in July, averaging 7.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.
After Summer League concluded, he signed a two-way deal with the Los Angeles Clippers but was waived on Sept. 25, just before training camp.
Murphy reported there was interest from the Raptors to ink Sharp to a two-way deal of their own at the end of Summer League.
Sharp went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft and signed with the Dallas Mavericks, but was waived after a few weeks before joining the Legends in the G League.
He had a productive college career, playing for three different colleges from 2019 to 2024.
He was the blocks leader in the NCAA for two years in a row in 2022-23 and received Conference Defensive Player of the Year honours both times.
He finished the 2025-26 season playing in Puerto Rico, signing there on April 1 and becoming the tallest player in that league's history.
To make room for Sharp, the Raptors waived Hepburn, who signed a two-way contract with the team last off-season.
Hepburn appeared in two games for Toronto and played 19 games for the G League's Raptors 905, where he averaged 12.3 points, 8.8 assists and 2.3 steals before undergoing season-ending knee surgery.
Murphy noted that Hepburn, 23, could still stay in Toronto's two-way contract mix and is eligible to join Raptors 905, potentially opting to rehab with the team there after suffering a hamstring injury on Saturday.
Garbutt Disposal reported in October that the Raptors signed forward Tyson Degenhart and waived guard Andre Jackson Jr.
Toronto plays its first pre-season game at Scotiabank Arena Tuesday against the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet+.
With files from The Canadian Press, CBC News and Sportsnet