ESPN picks Reed Sheppard as clear favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year

Reed Sheppard was the talk of Summer League after the Houston Rockets selected him with the No. 3 overall draft pick in June. The former Kentucky guard was named to the All-Summer League First Team after posting per-game averages of 20 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 1.3 blocks.

As a result, he’ll head into his debut season as the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award — at least he will in the eyes of ESPN.

On Tuesday morning, the staff over at ESPN provided predictions for every major NBA award for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Sheppard was the easy choice for Rookie of the Year, receiving 74 points and 62 percent of the first-place votes. Zach Edey of the Memphis Grizzlies came in second with 40 points and 14 percent of first-place votes.

Sheppard isn’t the only former ‘Cat being held in high regard going into his rookie campaign though. ESPN has Minnesota Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham (drafted No. 8 overall) receiving 10 points, which is good enough for fifth place on the Rookie of the Year ballot.

But what about the non-rookies? ESPN mentioned several other Kentucky players as major award candidates.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder checked in at third in the Most Valuable Player voting behind Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic, respectively. Gilgeous-Alexander finished second in MVP voting a season ago and expects to have OKC in the hunt for a run to the NBA Finals. SGA received 37 points and 24 percent of first-place votes, which was actually more than Jokic’s 10 percent of first-place votes. Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers received three points for MVP, which was the eighth-most on the ballot.

Davis was also mentioned on the Defensive Player of the Year ballot. He received 14 points, good enough for fourth-most. He actually came in one spot behind Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, who checks in at third with 26 points and 14 percent of the first-place votes. Adebayo’s first-place votes actually outnumbered Rudy Gobert, who received 29 points but just five percent of first-place votes. Victor Wembanyama was the clear-cut choice to win DPOY, receiving 76 points and 67 percent of the first-place votes.

But wait, there’s more! Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings tied with Alex Caruso as the pick to win Sixth Man of the Year. Both received 38 points and earned 19 percent of the first-place votes. Monk finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year race in 2023-24. He’ll likely be first off the bench for the Kings once again this season alongside starting point guard De’Aaron Fox.

The 2024-25 NBA season begins on Tuesday, Oct. 22.