Reed Sheppard nearly dropped 50 points in his G League debut

The Houston Rockets moved Reed Sheppard down to the G League on Monday. The franchise might want to consider bringing him back up.

Sheppard made his G League debut with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Tuesday night in a matchup against the Oklahoma City Blue. Although it came in a 130-125 loss, Sheppard immediately showed he might be too good for the NBA’s development league. The former Kentucky guard exploded for 49 points on 17-33 shooting, including an 8-19 mark from deep.

Sheppard’s 49 points were the third-most in Vipers history. 16 of those points came in the final five minutes of regulation as he tried to keep his team alive. He also chipped in six assists, five rebounds, and three steals in his 36 minutes of action.

It was pure dominance by the third overall pick from the 2024 NBA Draft. Watch him cook in the highlights below.

It wasn’t a huge shock to see Sheppard reassigned to the G League. He was averaging just 3.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 11.6 minutes per outing for the Rockets while shooting 32.2 percent overall from the field. The Bluegrass native is in a weird situation for a top-five pick as Houston is in win-now mode (currently second in the Western Conference with a 24-12 record) and isn’t looking to feed its top rookie extended minutes.

Sheppard simply needs to see the floor and play basketball. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka has been (somewhat understandably) unwilling to do so. A move to the G League where he can do nothing but that makes sense. And it might be the reason Houston elects to keep him with the Vipers beyond Tuesday night’s game. But it also might be best for Sheppard in the long term.