Rockets' Reed Sheppard Ranks as NBA's 20th-Best Fifth Option

Will he be the Rockets' fifth option?

Oct 6, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard (15) dribbles the ball during the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets have four of their starters solidified. Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., and Kevin Durant are locks. Rightfully so.

As for the fifth player? Rockets coach Ime Udoka has a litany of options. It could be Steven Adams, sticking with his highly favored jumbo lineup.

We saw that a good bit last season, which helped the Rockets lead the league in rebounds. Although Houston's offense wasn't necessarily the best in the league (far from it, actually), the amount of second chance opportunities was a great way to offset that.

We've seen that in the preseason as well. Through the first three games, at least. Sengun's versatility allows the team to play with another center in the lineup.

Even when Clint Capela was the second big man, in place of Adams, good things happened. 

There's been speculation regarding Reed Sheppard potentially being that fifth and final starter. The Rockets do still need a point guard to replace Fred VanVleet, who is sure to miss the entirety of the season with a torn ACL suffered during team minicamp in the Bahamas.

Sheppard would be the ideal replacement. After all, the team invested the third overall pick in him.

Even if you view the 2024 NBA Draft as a weak one, the Rockets have developed a reputation for being among the league’s elite when it comes to drafting players. Buy and large, general manager Rafael Stone and company don't oftentimes miss in the draft.

Especially of late.

In the preseason, Sheppard's shot was hitting. The Kentucky product averaged 15 points on 51.2 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from three (on a healthy 6.8 attempts), and 83.3 percent from the free throw line.

Defensively, he's been active, to the tune of three stocks per game.

As a facilitator, however, he averaged three assists and 2.8 turnovers. That's a bit of a notch below the sure-handed VanVleet, who consistently ranked near the top of the league in assists-to-turnovers, as he rarely turned the ball over.

Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer Ben Rohrbach ranked Sheppard as the league's 20th-best fifth option, which although low, seems fitting.

We still don't quite know what he is at the NBA level. And, again, we don't know if he'll be Houston's fifth option in 2025-26. 

Perhaps Dorian Finney-Smith could be slated in as the fifth and final starter, once fully healthy (whenever that is).