“If you would have told me I probably would have laughed”: Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard speaks on being one of the top prospects in 2024 NBA draft
Reed Sheppard came to the Kentucky Wildcats as a four-star recruit last season, so he was certainly talented. But he also joined a freshman class that had four five-stars ranked ahead of him, and he started only four games at UK.
So, to see his name at No. 3 in ESPN's mock draft earlier this month is big, even for someone who was named the Freshman of the Year in the Southeastern Conference and also nationally by the NABC and USBWA.
"You know, it's crazy," Sheppard said on "Podcast P with Paul George" on Monday. (Timestamp: 41:30). "You know, it's really cool hearing my name being said like that and around those names and those teams, but, you know, coming into the season if you would've told me that, I probably would've laughed at you.
"That wasn't what I had in my head at all. I was just wanting to go out and have fun and enjoy and play, and the season was great, and so, being in this position is, it's crazy. It's a lot of fun. I'm super, super happy. And the whole process has been unbelievable for me and my family."
Sheppard participated in the CAA pro day at the LA Lakers' practice facility last week.
Last season, Reed Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while scoring 53.6%, including 52.1% of his 3-point attempts. He shot 83.1% from the foul line.
ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected Sheppard to be the No. 3 pick by the Houston Rockets. Gary Parish of CBS Sports has him at No. 2 to the Washington Wizards after French talent Alex Sarr. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has him as the No. 8 pick by the San Antonio Spurs. After a trade with the Toronto Raptors, the Spurs have two top 10 picks in the draft.
The mock drafts for Sheppard were not always like this after he started only five games last season.
However, his consistency off the bench and his performance at the NBA draft combine helped him to improve his draft prospects a lot.
What did Reed Sheppard say about his max vertical at the combine?
When asked about recording the highest max vertical at the 2024 NBA draft combine on "Podcast P", Reed Sheppard said:
"I know I can jump, but I didn't know I was going to have the highest vertical in the NBA draft. But I got to give a lot of credit to my guy Ryan at Proactive. You know, he kind of helped this out with a little arm trick. So, I was able to get a couple more inches."
He recorded a 42-inch max vertical along with a 32.5 standing vertical.