Indiana Pacers select Ben Sheppard with 26th overall pick

Sheppard is a great shooting prospect

The Indiana Pacers selected Belmont guard/wing Ben Sheppard with the 26th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

It was the Pacers second pick of the night. They previously grabbed Houston forward Jarace Walker with the eighth overall pick. Indiana acquired the 26th pick that allowed them to select Sheppard in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the 2022 trade deadline.

Sheppard has a key trait that every team wants: he can shoot the ball. The Belmont product canned 41.5% of his 193 three-point attempts in his final NCAA season, and his play inside the arc surged. He finished with a 58.2% true shooting percentage as a senior.

"He can shoot," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Sheppard.

The six-foot-six-inch guard/wing hybrid has been climbing the draft rankings throughout the pre-draft process. He was a standout performer at the NBA Draft Combine and has impressed teams with his well-rounded game.

He's 21-years old and worked out for the Pacers in the pre-draft process on June 8. "Today was super fun. I think it went well for me," Sheppard said at the time.

The Georgia native played at Belmont for four seasons. He got better every year, which is something NBA executives typically love. He's a big guard, too, which is appealing.

For the Pacers, he will have time to develop behind other guards, such as Buddy Hield, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin. But as a shooter, the blue and gold can bring him along slowly until he is ready to contribute.

"Ben Sheppard came in... and really showed out," Carlisle said of the 26th pick's draft workout. "He just played great on both ends. He's got a high skill level. He's had a pretty consistent rise in the draft."

The Pacers still have the 47th and 55th picks coming later in the draft.

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• Sources: Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers swap second round picks and cash considerations. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets agree on draft pick trade, per source. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers trade seventh overall pick to Washington Wizards, who select Bilal Coulibaly. CLICK HERE.
• Source: Ausar Thompson withdraws from pre-draft workout with Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
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