Houston Rockets Season Player Review: Reed Sheppard

Reed Sheppard didn't have the rookie season he was expecting as he struggled to find his shots and minutes for most of the season.

Apr 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) moves the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets had a successful 2023-24 season, improving by a league-best 19 games, going 41-41, and coming up only a few games short of making the postseason. The Rockets had suffered through their three worst seasons, winning only 61 games in the previous three seasons.

Even with the improved season, the Rockets realized that there were a few areas they would need to improve in. They knew they needed to improve the backup center position and also their bottom 10 3-point shooting.

The Rockets' best odds were to draft in the No. 9 position. However, the Rockets jumped into the top four for the fourth straight year. The Rockets knew there was one player who could possibly help the Rockets' poor 3-point shooting, and that was Reed Sheppard.

Sheppard was a combo guard at the University of Kentucky, where he spent one year before declaring for the NBA draft. He caught the Rockets' eye by shooting a remarkable 52.1% from 3-point range, and he and fellow lottery pick Rob Dillingham both came off the bench for the Wildcats.

Sheppard was seen as someone who could come in, and even though he was a rookie, he could have a significant impact from beyond the arc. The Rockets knew coming into the season that they had their best chance in the last five seasons to make the playoffs and had one of the deepest rosters in the league.

That deep roster made it difficult at times for Sheppard to see playing time. When Sheppard did finally see the court, he struggled with the speed of the game and at times seemingly did not want to shoot the basketball.

Sheppard did get a decent number of minutes to start the season. In his first regular-season game, he played over 15 minutes but only scored four points. As the season went on, Sheppard's minutes started dropping as the Rockets realized that he might not be ready to play regular minutes, especially on a team competing for a playoff spot.

After the start of the season, Sheppard would start to receive more and more DNPs as the Rockets started to shorten their rotation. Sheppard even spent some time in the G League as the Rockets wanted their third overall pick to still get some playing time during actual games and not just practice