The 2024 No. 3 overall pick was overlooked as a rookie. The Rockets prioritized winning over developmental minutes and made a surprise leap to the top of the Western Conference playoff picture. However, Houston lost to Golden State in the first round as a No. 2 seed, prompting dramatic changes this offseason. The Rockets shipped Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to Phoenix in a package deal to land Kevin Durant. They also sent Cam Whitmore to Washington for draft capital, signed Fred VanVleet to a multi-year extension and added Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela in free agency. However, VanVleet tore his ACL in late September and will likely miss the entire 2025-26 campaign. With four rotation players, including three starters and the team's 2024-25 leading scorer, out of the picture, Sheppard should have a clearer path to consistent minutes in Year 2. The most significant addition to replace the trio of departures was Durant, who has missed fewer than 20 regular-season games only once in the past five seasons. Sheppard is an obvious option for more playing time and usage, but he'll have to earn everything. Veteran Aaron Holiday will be Sheppard's primary competition for backcourt minutes, though rising star Amen Thompson will also have a lot of ball-handling duties. The only thing left for Sheppard to do is prove himself at the highest level. He starred in the G League last season, averaging 30.7 points, 7.3 assists and 2.7 steals while shooting 40.5 percent from deep across three appearances. He dominated lesser competition again at Summer League, totaling 46 points and eight steals in two contests before being shut down. Sheppard played at least 20 minutes in only five NBA games as a rookie, but he posted promising results, averaging 16.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 steals. Given his upside and projected rise in minutes in the aftermath of VanVleet's injury, Sheppard will probably go higher than his ADP in most drafts, and there's no reason he should fall past pick 150. He'll likely need to have a strong showing in training camp for the Rockets to trust him with a starting role to begin the campaign, as they are in win-now mode. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $20.7 million contract with the Rockets in July of 2024. Rockets exercised $11.11 million team option for 2026-27 in October of 2025. Contract includes $14.04 million team option for 2027-28.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Sheppard was named Gatorade Player of the Year in 2022 and Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 2023. A consensus four-star recruit and McDonald's All-American, Sheppard started only five of his 33 games during his freshman season at Kentucky with averages of 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 28.9 minutes per game. He led the nation in shooting 52.1% from three and made seven three-pointers in a game twice en route to being named SEC Freshman of the Year and national Freshman of the Year by USBWA and NABC. Sheppard's father, Jeff, also played for Kentucky and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1988 NCAA Tournament before playing for the Hawks in the NBA. At 6-foot-2, Sheppard is a fantastic catch-and-shoot player who can create his own shot at times and is a willing passer. He has elite defensive instincts, which allows him to jump passing lanes and poke the ball away from opposing ballhandlers, but he needs to get stronger before being considered a solid NBA defender. Sheppard turns 20 a few days before the Draft, and while he has some areas to improve, he is probably the most polished product in this 2024 Class and could contribute immediately. In 2023-24, Grayson Allen led the NBA in three-point percentage and Sheppard led the NCAA, but the former had a little more offensive athleticism than the latter did coming out of college. However, Sheppard is a better playmaker and defender, showing off some Jalen Suggs-esque tenacity during his lone season at Kentucky. Sheppard profiles as the classic three-and-D guy in a starting lineup, but he could also be utilized as a primary offensive weapon off the bench.
Thrives in starting role Friday
GHouston Rockets
March 7, 2026
Sheppard notched 17 points (5-14 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 4-4 FT), three rebounds, six assists, three blocks and one steal over 36 minutes during Friday's 106-99 victory over Portland.
ANALYSIS With Jabari Smith (ankle) sidelined for the second leg of a back-to-back, Sheppard moved back into the starting lineup and continued his recent tear. While his efficiency from the floor was modest, he provided elite defensive stats and solid playmaking as a starter. The second-year guard has been playing at an incredibly high level lately, averaging 21.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.8 triples over his last six outings. While his role often fluctuates based on Smith's availability, Sheppard has logged 35-plus minutes in each of his last four games and appears to have turned a corner in his development.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
Loading Split Stats...
Advanced Stats
Loading Advanced Stats...
2025
2024
Stat Review
How does Reed Sheppard compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
56.5%
Effective Field Goal %
55.0%
3-Point Attempt Rate
58.5%
Free Throw Rate
10.3%
Offensive Rebound %
1.5%
Defensive Rebound %
10.1%
Total Rebound %
5.9%
Assist %
18.6%
Steal %
2.5%
Block %
2.3%
Turnover %
8.6%
Usage %
21.9%
Fantasy Points Per Game
26.5
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.0
Loading Player Stat Review...
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
Loading Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats...
Historical ADP
Loading Historical ADP...
Rockets Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Reed Sheppard was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
Loading Average Minutes...
Loading FanDuel Points...
Loading DraftKings Points...
Loading Yahoo Points...
Loading Head2Head Points...
Loading Sorare Points...
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Reed Sheppard See More
RotoWire's Dan Bruno highlights his favorite DraftKings picks for Friday's slate, breaking down matchups and recent performances to build winning lineups.
Stay ahead in FanDuel NBA DFS. Discover tonight’s top plays, injury updates, projections and value targets to build winning lineups. Click in for expert insights from RotoWire!
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Strong shooting night off bench
GHouston Rockets
March 5, 2026
Sheppard posted 30 points (12-19 FG, 6-12 3Pt), six assists and three rebounds over 37 minutes during the Rockets' 115-113 overtime loss to the Warriors on Thursday.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Dominates on both ends
GHouston Rockets
March 2, 2026
Sheppard finished Monday's 123-118 victory over Washington with 19 points (7-18 FG, 4-11 3Pt, 1-2 FT), seven rebounds, 10 assists, two blocks and six steals over 42 minutes.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Named to Rising Stars showcase
GHouston Rockets
January 26, 2026
Sheppard was selected to the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars showcase that takes place Feb. 13 during All-Star Weekend, per NBA.com.
ANALYSIS The second-year pro has thrived in a rotational role off the Rockets' bench this season, providing a complementary spark to Kevin Durant and Alperen Sengun. Sheppard is averaging 13.1 points, 3.1 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals over 25.0 minutes per game this season while connecting on 40.7 percent of his three-point attempts on 6.2 3PA/G.