Houston Rockets' Reed Sheppard's Summer League Award Proves First-Year Potential

The Rockets rookie could be primed to make a strong impact during his first season in Houston.

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

Typically when NBA teams are looking to address a certain need, they do it via trade or free agency, ensuring they can get a ready-now talent capable of filling said hole.

The Houston Rockets might've gone against the grain with it paying off. They had two strong holes in their roster last season -- they were below average in terms of shooting 3-pointers and their assist-to-turnover ratio was not good.

Drafting Reed Sheppard with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He was uber-efficient while playing college basketball. He averaged 12.5 points per game while converting his shots on 54 percent completion, knocking down 52 percent of his 3-pointers.

Sheppard was wildly productive given he only started in five of his games played while at Kentucky. He also added 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in 33 contests played sporting a Wildcats jersey.

Taking a gamble on a Kentucky guard during the John Calipari era just makes sense. The legendary head coach, now leading the Arkansas Razorbacks, sent many, many productive guards to the NBA during his time in Lexington.

While Sheppard might have only converted on 28 percent of his 3-pointers in Summer League Las Vegas, he still averaged 20 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the field. His shot creation was better than expected and his production was incredible. He added 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game in Las Vegas.

The incredible production through games played in Las Vegas landed Sheppard on All-Summer League First Team, which was more than deserved.

The statistics are a four-game sample size, so it's hard to read into them one way or another, but it seems as if Sheppard has true star potential and is a playmaker on both sides of the ball. His scoring ability translated, as well as the ability to turn opposing teams over defensively.

The shot will fall at a better clip for Sheppard during the regular season, and he'll provide the Rockets a much-needed boost off the bench during next season.

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READ MORE: ESPN's Kendrick Perkins Names Rockets' Reed Sheppard as Summer League Standout

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