BBNBA: Reed Sheppard and Antonio Reeves make NBA debuts
While Tuesday night marked Opening Night of the NBA season, Wednesday night saw the season debut of 20 teams.
Among these teams were the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans, home to two of the three Kentucky players selected in the 2024 NBA Draft. Reed Sheppard was selected with the third overall pick by Houston, while Antonio Reeves went No. 47 to New Orleans.
Sheppard, who currently has the third-highest Rookie of the Year odds on FanDuel (+700), played 16 minutes off the bench. The 2024 SEC Freshman of the Year made two of his five shots but failed to make a three-pointer. He also nabbed two rebounds, totaled three assists, and recorded one block.
“He’s a very quiet, respectful boy, but then when you know him, he talks mad s**t,” said teammate Steven Adams about Sheppard. “Unbelievable, that kid.”
Reeves played just one minute but made the most of it. The 2024 Third-Team All-American put up three shots, although all were unsuccessful in New Orleans’ 123-111 win over the Chicago Bulls.
All eight Wildcats post negative plus/minus
In a wild turn of events, all eight former Cats who played Wednesday night posted negative plus/minus totals.
Tyrese Maxey opened the 2024/25 season with 31 shot attempts, the fourth most in a game in his career. Maxey, who was a first-time NBA All-Star last season, made 10 of 31 shots (2-9 from three) for 25 points and a -13. In the absence of Paul George and Joel Embiid, the Sixers dropped their opening game to the Bucks 124-109.
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Devin Booker was -4 in 32 minutes played, but made five of nine shots (4-5 from three-point range). Book was one of five Suns to score in double-digits, as Phoenix held off the Los Angeles Clippers 116-113 in the brand-new Intuit Dome.
Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo struggled in Miami’s season opener as well, as they combined to shoot 6-15 from the field. Adebayo totaled just nine points (1-5 shooting), failing to reach the 10-point mark. The 3x NBA All-Star failed to reach the 10-point mark in just four of 71 games played last season. Adebayo was a dreadful -30, while Herro was -27.
“We played bad, it’s not really anything to that,” Adebayo said postgame. “That’s as simple as I can make it. It’s embarrassing, especially on a night like this for ‘Godfather’ Riley.”
The Miami Heat dedicated their court to team president Pat Riley, who played at Kentucky from 1964-1967.
10/23/24 Statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 109-124 L vs. MIL | 25 | 10-31 (2-9) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -13 | 39 |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 116-113 W @ LAC | 15 | 5-9 (4-5) | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 32 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 97-116 L vs. ORL | 14 | 5-10 (2-5) | 5 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | -27 | 29 |
| Immanuel Quickley (TOR) | 106-136 L vs. CLE | 13 | 4-9 (2-4) | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | 2 | -2 | 14 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 97-116 L vs. ORL | 9 | 1-5 (0-2) | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | -30 | 26 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 110-105 W @ HOU | 6 | 3-4 (0-0) | 8 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | -1 | 24 |
| Reed Sheppard (HOU) | 105-110 L vs. CHA | 4 | 2-5 (0-1) | 2 | 3 | — | 1 | 3 | -6 | 16 |
| Antonio Reeves (NOP) | 123-111 W vs. CHI | 0 | 0-3 (0-2) | — | — | — | — | 1 | -3 | 1 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (NOP) | 123-111 W vs. CHI | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Justin Edwards (PHI) | 109-124 L vs. MIL | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 115-109 W @ DET | DNP – Groin | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Johnny Juzang (UTA) | 124-126 L vs. MEM | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chris Livingston (MIL) | 124-109 W vs. PHI | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shaedon Sharpe (POR) | 104-139 L vs. GS | DNP – Shoulder | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Oscar Tshiebwe (UTA) | 124-126 L vs. MEM | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| TyTy Washington Jr. (PHX) | 116-113 W @ LAC | DNP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Tonight in the NBA
- 7:00 EST | Celtics @ Wizards
- 7:30 EST | Spurs (Johnson) @ Mavericks (Washington Jr.)
- 10:00 EST | Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Wallace) @ Nuggets (Murray)
- 10:00 EST | Timberwolves (Dillingham, Randle) @ Kings (Fox, Monk, Lyles)
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