Justin Edwards (3e), DJ Wagner (4th), Aaron Bradshaw (6th) or Rob Dillingham (15e)… All of these players arrived in Lexington with a better pedigree coming out of high school than Reed Sheppard. But of the contingent of freshmen that Kentucky loved under John Calipari, it was Reed Sheppard, “only” 23e of ESPN's Top 100 High School Players in 2023 who shone the most with the Wildcats. Not a regular in the NCAA, he was nevertheless one of the sensations, with one of the best long-range shooting seasons in history. No more no less.
The player, who will be twenty years old the day before the Draft, quickly established himself as a must to be selected in the Lottery. Because more than a one-dimensional player, Reed Sheppard is complete, present on both sides of the field, and plays as if he already had years of experience behind him. Above all, he should have no trouble establishing himself in the NBA through his ability to do the actions that matter to help his team win, as long as it is well born. Which was not really the case for Kentucky this year.
Reed Sheppard's next big challenge will be to know what type of squad he will be able to join, whether he will have to quickly take the reins of an attack, or evolve further at the end of the system to make the powder speak from afar . Truth and its preferential role will undoubtedly lie somewhere in between.
Profile
Job : leader – rear
Size : 1m87
Weight : 82 kg
Team : Kentucky Wildcats (NCAA)
Stats 2023/24: 12.5 points (at 53.6%), 4.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists in 28.9 minutes
Strong points
– Outside shooting. What if Reed Sheppard immediately established himself as one of the best snipers in the entire NBA? At 52.1% from 3-point range (!!!), he was by far the best shooter in the NCAA, both in terms of his percentages and his impeccable shooting fundamentals. A quick trigger, comfortable anywhere around the arc, he was almost automatic when he was not covered by the defense (57.4%). Now all he has to do is confirm with a greater volume, so Kentucky only exploited him relatively sparingly (4.4 attempts per game) in an incomprehensible way.
– Basketball IQ. He's not exactly a dragster, but he makes up for it with the quality of his understanding of the game, whether it's finding shooting positions or finding an unmarked teammate. He is particularly interesting for distributing his shooters to the opposite side after the screen, and even more so for launching a counter-attack where his rapid decision-making and the precision of his “touchdown”-style passes are formidable.
– Defense. The NBA will discover one hell of a pickpocket (2.5 interceptions / game). With his hyperactive hands and a very interesting sense of anticipation, Reed Sheppard can steal the ball from his opponent's hands and cut passing lines. It is just as formidable to come to the aid or to hold in pairs from the opposite side. And despite a fairly average wingspan, its vertical trigger – best measured at Draft Combine – allows him to be a better blocker than his size would suggest.
Weakness
– The look. With his small 1m90 shoes on his feet, Reed Sheppard lacks size for a player alternating between positions 1 and 2. He will especially have to gain mass to better resist contact near the circle, and even more so in defense, where he can sometimes being pushed down by stronger players.
Comparison
Reed Sheppard is a hybrid between Donte DiVincenzo by his defensive and shooting qualities, Alex Caruso for his ability to play as if he were bigger than he really is, and a Kirk Hinrich at the start of your career, to chain together actions that make a team win without losing the ball.
Prognosis
Top 5, probably Top 3. If the hierarchy of the podium of this draft remains uncertain, Reed Sheppard returns almost unanimously as the favorite to join the Rockets in 3e choice.
