The Houston Rockets have a good one in rookie Reed Sheppard. Everyone is starting to learn about the immense potential of the former Kentucky Wildcats star in the NBA, as he's been putting on a show in the Las Vegas NBA Summer League.
He's gotten so much attention for his work in the first three games in Sin City that he's even being compared to former NBA point guard and all-time elite shooter Mark Price. How do we know? It's Mark Price himself who's made the comparison, as he praised Sheppard after watching some of Sheppard's Summer League highlights, perhaps including those in the Rockets' 109-91 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
“I just watched some highlights of @reed_sheppard at @NBASummerLeague ! He sure reminds me of a former NBA all star😀 This young man has a bright future,” the former Cleveland Cavaliers guard tweeted on Monday.
Price isn't the only one seeing a promising outlook for Sheppard in the NBA. Many are also now wondering whether the Atlanta Hawks and the Washington Wizards made a mistake by choosing Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, respectively, in the 2024 NBA Draft over Sheppard, who landed with the Rockets as the third pick overall.
It may still be too early to fully predict what kind of career Sheppard will have in the NBA, but what is undeniable is that he's hyping Rockets fans up with his play in the Summer League. It can't be said either that no one saw this kind of performance from Reed coming, as he's always done it in college with the Wildcats.
During his one-year stint in Lexington, Sheppard averaged 12.5 points on 53.6 percent shooting from the field. He also shot an incredible 52.1 percent from behind the arc, and that kind of efficiency on offense and scoring ability was mostly what got scouts drooling over the talent from London, Kentucky.
Of course, Price knows a thing or two about offensive efficiency and straight-up shooting the lights out. And like Price, Sheppard doesn't need to be the most athletic or biggest guy on the floor to deal serious damage to opponents. Price stands just 6-0 and Reed is a little taller than him at 6-3.
Rockets' Reed Sheppard is showing out in the Summer League
Sheppard is really turning heads in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. In three games played, he has managed to average 20.0 points on 49.0 percent shooting from the field and 38.5 percent from behind the arc. He has also collected 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest. Sheppard is also doing great work on the defensive side of the court, as evidenced by his 3.0 steals per game average in the Summer League.
In the showdown against Sarr and the Wizards, Sheppard outplayed the No. 2 pick overall, scoring 22 points on 9/15 shooting from the floor, grabbing six rebounds, and dropping seven dimes. That's not to mention his five steals and a block in 32 minutes of action. For what it's worth, Sarr only had eight points on a salty 4/14 shooting, including 0/5 from 3-point range, four rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in 29 minutes.
It will be interesting to see if Sheppard can contribute significantly right away for the Rockets in the regular season Houston, which ranked 13th in the 2023-24 NBA campaign with 114.3 points per game.
The Rockets, who also won over the Detroit Pistons on Monday, 87-73, where Sheppard had 15 points on 6/17 shooting, will next take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.
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