Houston Rockets' Reed Sheppard Drafted No. 1 In 2024 NBA Re-Draft

The Houston Rockets rookie is making a strong impression early on in his career.

Jul 14, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) and Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr (12) await a free throw attempt during the second quarter at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

While Reed Sheppard hasn't yet logged any minutes with the Houston Rockets in an official contest, he's still highly-touted around the league after a strong performance in Las Vegas Summer League.

With the NBA season slowly, slowly inching it's way to being here, rookies are slated to make their debuts with their respective franchises. How Sheppard improves the Rockets and the role in which he plays will be one of the most intriguing storylines among all newcomers.

While it's too early to make any real judgments on the incoming rookie class, CBS Sports' Kyle Boone tried his hand at re-drafting the 2024 NBA Draft. While Zaccharie Risacher was the first selection in the draft, Sheppard earned that title in the re-draft, going to the Atlanta Hawks in the hypothetical.

"What we saw from Risacher in Summer League was impressive -- and maybe even better than I anticipated -- so maybe Atlanta would roll with him again. But No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard looked nothing short of a superstar in his own tier for the Rockets' Summer League team," Boone wrote. "CBS Sports' Gary Parrish ranked Sheppard as his No. 1 player in the class for months leading into the draft in June, and while, yes, it's way too early to draw anything from the class, he's so far looking like he might've nailed his eval. Sheppard looks awesome."

The buzz around Sheppard is real. The Kentucky product averaged a strong 20 points per contest in Summer League. He's going to end up being a home run of a draft pick for the Rockets. However, in the re-draft, Houston ends up with UConn center Donovan Clingan.

"There was steam into the final day that Clingan might go No. 1 overall to Atlanta. Clingan wound up falling all the way to No. 7 on draft night, though, which in the moment seemed absurd and in hindsight seems mind-boggling. He led all players in blocks and rebounds and has been every bit the defensive anchor we expected he'd be in the NBA like he was at UConn," Boone wrote.

Clingan in Houston would be an interesting fit, and it'd be interesting to know what would have happened if that was the direction the Rockets ended up going. Would the team keep Alperen Sengun? Trade him for a win-now talent and make defense the team's identity? It's a fun hypothetical, but it's hard to imagine the club isn't incredibly happy with the way things played out.

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