Ime Udoka identifies key attributes of #3 draft pick that have impressed Rockets in NBA Summer League
Houston Rockets rookie guard Reed Sheppard shined during Las Vegas' NBA 2K25 Summer League. His strong showing seemingly impressed Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who raved about the No. 3 pick's well-rounded production.
Entering this year's draft, Sheppard was billed as the top shooting prospect by a wide margin. Over 33 games during his freshman season at Kentucky, he averaged 12.5 points per game on hyper-efficient 53.6/52.1/83.1 shooting splits.
Sheppard's relatively small stature (6-foot-2) led to questions about whether his game would translate to the NBA. However, the 20-year-old quickly quieted his skeptics during the Summer League, serving as Houston's premier scoring option, while making a two-way impact.
Over four contests, he averaged 20.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.8 steals, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 3-pointers per game, shooting 50.0%.
On Sunday, Udoka was asked "what has impressed him the most about Reed Sheppard so far." Rather than name one aspect of his game, Udoka praised Sheppard's all-around skill set.
"His composure, the IQ, the things we talked about, the shooting ability, but more than that, the competitiveness, toughness, all the intangibles that he brings," Udoka said. "We know about the things he does really well but see how much of a well-rounded player he is. He's a natural leader out there, and he's fit right in."
Udoka added that Sheppard "continues to make the right play," which is "hard to teach young players," and always "keeps it simple."
It's rare for rookie guards to make such smooth transitions from college to Summer League and score so efficiently. Sheppard has even maintained a 50.0% shooting mark despite shooting only 27.8% from deep on 4.5 attempts per game. So, if his 3s start falling close to the rate they did in college, he still has substantial room for improvement.
Rockets GM Rafael Stone confident in Reed Sheppard's prospects of making easy transition to NBA
Among those seemingly encouraged by Reed Sheppard's Summer League performance is Rockets general manager Rafael Stone.
On Sunday, Stone highlighted how Sheppard's poised play should make his transition to the NBA relatively seamless.
"We have seen enough to be pretty comfortable that it would be an easy transition for him, whether easy meant a day or six months. We thought the package was there for him to become a pretty good pick-and-roll player," Stone told SiriusXM NBA Radio.
Sheppard joins a crowded Houston backcourt featuring veteran point guard Fred VanVleet and 2021 No. 2 pick Jalen Green. Nevertheless, if Sheppard's strong Summer League play carries over to his rookie season, he should earn considerable bench minutes on a fairly competitive Rockets squad.
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