Reed Sheppard shares his favorite Kentucky player of all-time ahead of 2024 NBA Draft
Former Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard is expected to be a high lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, joining a long line of fellow Wildcats getting picked. And Sheppard, a Kentucky hoops legacy and lifelong fan, is a fan of all of them.
But when asked at the 2024 NBA Draft to pick his single favorite Kentucky player ever, Sheppard gave a bit of an unorthodox answer: Tyler Ulis.
However, there’s some good reason. Ulis was on the Kentucky staff this season, building the bond between him and Sheppard. And Sheppard would’ve been in middle school for most of Ulis’ career at Kentucky from 2014-16.
“All time? One of my favorites is Tyler Ulis. And that was really cool this year because he was on staff so I was able — he was able to kind of coach me throughout the year,” Sheppard said.
That said, he didn’t want the other former Wildcats to feel left out, especially since Sheppard’s been a fan for so long.
“But you have so many great players that play at Kentucky,” Sheppard said. “Devin Booker’s one that I really like to watch, Karl Anthony-Towns. And it’s cool for me because I have pictures with them from when I was a little kid. So I’ve been watching them forever, so it’ll be really cool to play against them.”
Sheppard models his game after some NBA stars
Sheppard has thought a lot about how he wants to mold his game for the NBA level, too. He models different aspects of his game off different players.
“First there’s so many great players in the NBA,” Sheppard said on a pre-draft special on ESPN. “So for me it’s hard to look and pick one. So I try and take different parts of different players’ games.”
He provided a few examples, and most are the types you would probably readily guess. He’s going for guys that have done it at a high level for a really long time, but who also have unique elements to their game.
“Like Chris Paul, I love how he can control the game and how he’s just a teammate and he just is so smart,” Sheppard said. “I was able to work out with him a few weeks ago and you can just tell how smart he was.”
Sheppard averaged 4.5 assists per game during his time at Kentucky. And while that’s hardly comparable to Paul at the NBA level, Sheppard often wasn’t tasked with being the primary ball-handler. He might have to be in the NBA.
So developing that skill set will be important. Then there’s the ability to create a shot.
“Devin Booker, how he can get to his mid-range spot whenever he wants,” Sheppard said of his model there.