After spending last season with the Wizards, free agent guard Sharife Cooper has rejoined the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association, as Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays.

A former standout at Auburn, Cooper was drafted 48th overall by Atlanta in 2021 but spent just a single season in the NBA before playing in the G League and overseas for the next few years. He suited up for Liaoning in 2024 and helped the team win the 2024 CBA title before competing in Turkey, Greece, and France during the 2024/25 season.

Cooper signed a two-way deal with the Wizards last September and ended up spending the entire 2025/26 season on that contract, appearing in 41 games and making one start at the NBA level. The 6’0″ point guard averaged 8.1 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per night, posting a solid shooting line of .514/.382/.833.

The Wizards could have tendered Cooper a two-way qualifying offer in June but opted not to do so, which made him an unrestricted free agent. He’ll reunite with the Flying Leopards, who haven’t been able to recapture their 2024 success in the two years since then. Liaoning was eliminated in the semifinals in the 2025 CBA playoffs, then didn’t advance to the quarterfinals in 2026.

The Flying Leopards have also signed former Texas Tech and Houston shooting guard Kyler Edwards, per Skerletic. Edwards inked Exhibit 10 contracts with Detroit in 2022 and Brooklyn in 2023 and spent his first two professional seasons in the G League, but he has competed in leagues outside the U.S. since then.