Reed Sheppard

Isaiah Reed Sheppard (born June 24, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a consensus four-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class. Sheppard was drafted as the 3rd pick in the 2024 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.

Early life and high school career
Sheppard grew up in London, Kentucky and attended North Laurel High School. He became North Laurel's starting shooting guard as a freshman and averaged 20.6 points per game. Sheppard led the state of Kentucky in scoring during his sophomore season after averaging 30.1 points per game in 28 games played. He was named the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior after averaging 25.5 points, 7.6 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 steals per game. Sheppard was selected to play in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year. He was named Kentucky Mr. Basketball after averaging 22.5 points, 8.5 assists and 8.4 rebounds per game. Sheppard finished his high school career with 3,727 points, 1,214 assists and 1,050 rebounds.

Recruiting
Sheppard was considered a top-50 prospect in the 2023 class. On November 20, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for Kentucky over offers from Louisville and Virginia.

College career
Sheppard enrolled at the University of Kentucky in June 2023, shortly after graduating from high school. He was assigned jersey number 15, his father's number. During the summer before his freshman year Sheppard played for the Wildcats in the GLOBL JAM tournament in Canada and averaged 8.5 points, 5.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks per game over four games as the team went undefeated and won the tournament.

After the regular season, Sheppard was named SEC Freshman of the Year by the conference coaches.

At the end of the season, Sheppard was named the national freshman of the year by both the United States Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

On April 18, 2024, Sheppard announced that he would declare for the 2024 NBA draft and forego his remaining college eligibility.

Houston Rockets (2024–present)
Sheppard was selected with the third overall pick by the Houston Rockets in the 2024 NBA draft. He signed a rookie-scale contract with the team on July 3, 2024. He made his NBA Summer League debut on July 6, putting up 23 points, five assists, four rebounds, and three blocks in a 99–80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Most recently he matched up with #8 pick Rob Dillingham, another Kentucky guard. He scored 20 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals for the Rockets on July 18th. The Rockets would lose to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dillingham 93-83.

Personal life
Sheppard's father, Jeff Sheppard, played college basketball at Kentucky and was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1998 NCAA tournament and later played in 18 games during the 1998–99 NBA season season for the Atlanta Hawks. His mother, the former Stacey Reed, also played basketball at Kentucky and scored over 1,400 career points. Sheppard's older sister, Madison, played college basketball at Campbellsville University.