NBA reveals unseen footage of Reed Sheppard at 2024 NBA Draft
Former Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard is the newest member of the Houston Rockets after being selected No. 3 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
He was the first traditional college basketball player to be selected after Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr went first and second, respectively. Ahead of the selection, the NBA mic’d up the former Wildcat and have released a video depicting his timeline during the day.
The video included him singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to his mother, greeting former head coach John Calipari and teammate Rob Dillingham, his draft call, walking onto the stage and more.
As he took the call, Sheppard had his head down, listening intently to the Rockets brass who were calling him to tell him they were taking him No. 3 overall.
“Yes sir, thank you,” Sheppard said, holding his fittingly red phone to his left ear. “I can’t wait. I’m super excited.” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called his name — the first thing he did was huge his mother and tell her happy birthday.
His father, former Final Four MVP Jeff Sheppard, told his son how proud he was and that he loved him. He also made sure to greet Dillingham, who would hear his name called five picks later, on the way to the stage.
After leaving the podium, he met with Rockets standout and former top three overall pick Josh Green, who Sheppard will be playing alongside in the Houston backcourt this season.
“That was awesome,” Sheppard said after the fact. “I can’t even explain it. Having my family there on my mom’s birthday — it’s a dream come true. I’m so happy to be in this position.”
During the 2023-24 season, Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals and a team-high 4.5 assists per game. Further, the Bluegrass native shot 53.6% from the floor and 51.1% from the 3-point line, the most accurate single-season 3-point percentage in program history.
As a consensus four-star recruit coming out of North Laurel High School, Sheppard wasn’t expected to shine the way he did during his lone season in Lexington. Sheppard was ready to take on any role Calipari threw at him, one time going so far as saying that he would be the water boy if he had to.
Of course, he made the most of his opportunity, forced Calipari to put him on the court. It paid off in the end and now Sheppard is expected to be one of the top rookies in the NBA during the 2024-25 season.