Rockets Rookie Reed Sheppard Assigned to G League

Houston's No. 3 pick has been assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Nov 18, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) shoots against Milwaukee Bucks guard AJ Green (20) during the second quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

On Monday, the Houston Rockets officially assigned its former No. 3 pick and rookie Reed Sheppard to its G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

The designation makes sense for Sheppard, as he’s struggled to kick off his NBA career after an impressive Summer League stint. Across his 30 NBA games so far, he’s scored just 3.3 points on 32% shooting, failing to make his mark when on-court and seeing his time dwindle as a result.

An undersized guard, Rockets was the rightful No. 3 pick with the ability to stuff the stat sheet for Kentucky on any given night, but he's been unable to really find his rhythm in Houston so far.

Houston is no stranger to letting its young prospects put in work in the G League, just weeks ago letting forward Cam Whitmore work through struggles with the Vipers before employing him for the Rockets in the past few games. Since his G league stint, Whitmore has scored 11.9 points per game on 45% shooting overall, showing some improvement likely granted from his time there.

The Rockets have been among the best teams in the league so far this season, posting a 23-12 record, good for No. 2 in the Western Conference as it stands now. That has made it even harder for Sheppard to find his groove, playing a lesser off-ball role consisting of mostly spot-up shooting.

With the Vipers, he’ll likely have full control over the offense, able to man point guard duties and attack and gamble on defense, too.

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