Despite being the No. 3 overall draft pick in the 2024 first round, Reed Sheppard played only sparingly for the 2024-25 Houston Rockets . Unlike most high picks, who are drafted by the NBA's worst teams and have minimal competition for minutes, Sheppard joined a playoff-bound squad that was only selecting in the top three because of a draft choice they had previously acquired from the Brooklyn Nets .
But that doesn't mean that there isn't a path forward for Sheppard with the Rockets. It just simply didn't happen for the University of Kentucky product in year one.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN wrote recently :
Rockets decision-makers consider guard Reed Sheppard, the No. 3 pick who hasn't cracked a deep rotation on a consistent basis as a rookie, as perhaps the most gifted offensive talent on the roster.
Sheppard is occasionally mentioned in the same breath as Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash , another small guard who played sparingly as a rookie. At 6-2, 185 pounds, Sheppard faces a steep learning curve to adjust to the NBA, especially on a competitive team, but the Rockets remain bullish on his potential to develop into a star.
"I think Reed's just a really, really talented player," Rockets general manager Rafael Stone told MacMahon . "Very few people shoot as well as him. Very few people pass as well as him, and more even than pass, see the offense so clearly and so easily. That's not really a skill that is taught, not at the level he can do it. We think that he has a chance to be really special."
It's worth noting that Sheppard did briefly begin the 2024-25 season in Houston's playing rotation. However, between defensive struggles at Sheppard's small size and his shooting not being as elite as the team had hoped, veteran Aaron Holiday increasingly took on those backup point-guard minutes behind Fred VanVleet .
Sheppard did show flashes in rare appearances late in the season, but it was far too late for a playoff-bound team to consider substantive changes to its rotation for meaningful games. So, it was largely understood that Sheppard's next sustained chance wouldn't come until 2025-26.
Defensively, young NBA players often struggle as rookies before making progress in their second and third seasons due to additional strength and experience. The hope is that will be the case for Sheppard. And if Sheppard is more playable defensively, that should allow the sample on offense to grow to a sufficiently large enough size for the elite shooting ( at least in terms of projections ) to translate.
"Reed didn't ever get the opportunity (in 2024-25) because we were good," Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta told Chris Baldwin of PaperCity . "If Reed would have been able to start 80 games like these other guys did (rookies on losing teams), he would have averaged 20 points a game. You've seen what he's done in his three starts. He averaged 19 points a game."
"Yeah, Reed will have a chance to contribute next year," Stone said in the conversation with PaperCity's Baldwin . "He's gotten a lot better."
It shouldn't come as a surprise if Sheppard plays at the NBA's 2025 summer league in Las Vegas, but that might not tell much, since he was already a standout at that developmental level in 2024. The bigger question is how Sheppard will hold up against his teammates in training camp and the preseason this fall, followed by meaningful games in the 2025-26 regular season.
Should it go well, Sheppard's addition to the rotation could provide a significant offensive boost to a Houston team that ranked in the middle of the pack in most efficiency categories this season ( and often below that in half-court situations ).
"We have full belief in our young guys and the guys that didn't get the opportunity to play as much this year," head coach Ime Udoka said at Tuesday's end-of-season press conference . "Things change obviously on a year to year basis. We see growth behind the scenes. When they did get a chance to play, I think you've seen Reed and Cam (Whitmore) and some of these guys take advantage, late in the season, when they played heavy minutes."
"You can kind of project that based on what they've done this year, and where they've grown in certain areas," Udoka concluded. "Obviously it's a long summer, with summer league and all those things. You get a chance to learn and grow. And obviously we have plans to use them more next year."
More: As rookie season ends, Rockets finding more confidence, aggression in Reed Sheppard
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Reed Sheppard becoming more important as Rockets turn focus to 2025-26
