Sheppard was selected with the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Rockets. Sheppard should add a jolt of elite perimeter shooting to the Rockets while sharing reserve playmaking responsibilities with Amen Thompson. It's easy to envision Sheppard running two-man action with Alperen Sengun, or Sengun finding Sheppard for open looks coming off a variety of off-ball screens. The guard out of Kentucky is also a smart and active defender, though his 6-foot-2 frame will limit his upside on that side of the ball. Sheppard showed out in Summer League, averaging 20.0 points and 1.3 threes on 50/28/75 shooting, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 1.3 blocks and 4.8 turnovers in 33.1 minutes. Despite Sheppard being a historically great three-point shooter in college, he used it to just supplement his game in Summer League. He was much more active from the mid-range, firing away when discarding his defender or freezing the defense in a pick-and-roll. Sheppard has enough potential to be worth taking with the No. 1 pick in keeper/dynasty formats, but his path to immediate minutes as a rookie is complicated and may limit his Year 1 potential. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $20.7 million contract with the Rockets in July of 2024. Contract includes $11.11 million team option for 2026-27.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Sheppard was named Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 and Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 2023. A consensus four-star recruit and McDonald's All-American, Sheppard started only five of his 33 games during his freshman season at Kentucky with averages of 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 28.9 minutes per game. He led the nation in shooting 52.1% from three and made seven three-pointers in a game twice en route to being named SEC Freshman of the Year and national Freshman of the Year by USBWA and NABC. Sheppard's father, Jeff, also played for Kentucky and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1988 NCAA Tournament before playing for the Hawks in the NBA. At 6-foot-2, Sheppard is a fantastic catch-and-shoot player who can create his own shot at times and is a willing passer. He has elite defensive instincts, which allows him to jump passing lanes and poke the ball away from opposing ballhandlers, but he needs to get stronger before being considered a solid NBA defender. Sheppard turns 20 a few days before the Draft, and while he has some areas to improve, he is probably the most polished product in this 2024 Class and could contribute immediately. In 2023-24, Grayson Allen led the NBA in three-point percentage and Sheppard led the NCAA, but the former had a little more offensive athleticism than the latter did coming out of college. However, Sheppard is a better playmaker and defender, showing off some Jalen Suggs-esque tenacity during his lone season at Kentucky. Sheppard profiles as the classic three-and-D guy in a starting lineup, but he could also be utilized as a primary offensive weapon off the bench.
Barely touched floor in win
GHouston Rockets
October 29, 2024
Sheppard ended with one assist in three minutes during Monday's 106-101 victory over the Spurs.
ANALYSIS Sheppard played a season-low three minutes, continuing his disappointing start to the campaign. Despite the upside, Sheppard is simply too buried on the depth chart to have any chance at putting up viable fantasy value. Unless we see a shift in how the Rockets are running their rotations, Sheppard is best left on waivers in all competitive leagues.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2024
Stat Review
How does Reed Sheppard compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
50.0%
Effective Field Goal %
50.0%
3-Point Attempt Rate
46.7%
Free Throw Rate
0.0%
Offensive Rebound %
1.9%
Defensive Rebound %
6.7%
Total Rebound %
4.2%
Assist %
23.1%
Steal %
0.9%
Block %
1.8%
Turnover %
14.8%
Usage %
15.5%
Fantasy Points Per Game
5.6
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.7
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Rockets Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Reed Sheppard was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
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Yahoo
FantasyDraft
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More Fantasy News
Quiet in debut Wednesday
GHouston Rockets
October 24, 2024
Sheppard totaled four points (2-5 FG, 0-1 3Pt), two rebounds, three assists and one block over 16 minutes during Wednesday's 110-105 loss to the Hornets.
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Makes impact off bench
GHouston Rockets
October 10, 2024
Sheppard delivered 11 points (5-7 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 0-1 FT), four rebounds, two assists and a steal across 23 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's 122-113 preseason win over the Thunder.
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Scores 15 despite shooting woes
GHouston Rockets
July 15, 2024
Sheppard finished with 15 points (6-17 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 3-3 FT), four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 36 minutes during Monday's 87-73 Summer League loss to the Pistons.
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Impresses in SL on Sunday
GHouston Rockets
July 14, 2024
Sheppard went for 22 points (9-15 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 3-4 FT), seven assists, six rebounds, five steals and a block across 32 minutes during Sunday's 109-91 victory over the Wizards at Summer League.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Receives All-Summer League honors
GHouston Rockets
July 22, 2024
Sheppard was named to the NBA 2K25 All-Summer League First Team on Monday.
ANALYSIS Sheppard was one of 13 players who competed in Summer League to average at least 20.0 points per game, and he also impressed with his performance across the board. The rookie averaged 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.3 blocks in 33.0 minutes, knocking down 50.0 percent of his tries from the field.