The Athletic: How Reed Sheppard earned the Rockets’ trust

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For Reed Sheppard, basketball has provided lifelong lessons in self-trust.

And one night earlier this season, it took Sheppard four minutes and 33 seconds to show that the faith he has always had in himself would produce different results in Year 2 than during his challenging rookie season.

In an NBA Cup game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco the night after Thanksgiving, playing without future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant and center Steven Adams, the Rockets found themselves trailing by 10 in the third quarter.

That’s when Sheppard showed the impact of that confidence.

Sheppard hit a floater to cut the deficit to eight. Then, after swiping the ball from Stephen Curry, he drained a 3. It was an eye-opening sequence, especially as the Rockets had needed Sheppard to enter Year 2 trusting himself and his shot. They needed him not to think.

“The biggest difference this year,” ESPN analyst Tim Legler said after Sheppard got the Rockets within five points, “is that he is anticipating the next action coming his way. … Most of it was an afterthought a year ago.”

Sheppard grabbed three rebounds, hit another fadeaway and threw down a dunk to tie the score with 20 seconds left in the third. The Rockets would pull out a 104-100 win, with Sheppard scoring a career-high 31 points with nine rebounds and five assists.

It was one of the first examples of Sheppard’s evolution, growth that the Rockets not only anticipated, but also desperately needed. In 22 regular-season games with at least 30 minutes of playing time, he’s averaged 19.5 points with 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 steals and five assists per game. The Rockets had a 9-3 record when Sheppard scored at least 20 points.

It was a far cry from Sheppard’s rookie season, which was sprinkled with inconsistent playing time, DNPs and scoring droughts. He played more than 20 minutes only five times. Some fans questioned whether Houston made the right decision in drafting him third overall. Yet he hesitated to lean into one of his best skills: shooting.

“It was tough. It was different. I wasn’t used to anything like that,” Sheppard told The Athletic. 

But the difficulties of that season showed Sheppard his growth opportunities. He didn’t want to prove his doubters wrong; he wanted to prove himself right.

“I think a lot of it is just trust in yourself. I’ve played basketball my whole life, and I’ve been in moments that you dream of as a little kid,” Sheppard said. “So, now that I’m here, it’s like just have fun, trust in yourself and trust the work that you put in.

After acquiring Durant in the offseason, expectations for the Rockets were high. But before the season started, point guard Fred VanVleet was ruled out after tearing his ACL.

And suddenly, those big expectations landed — at least in part — on Sheppard’s shoulders.

For most of the season, Sheppard was able to handle the load. He played in all 82 games, starting 21. His 3-point shooting, that skill he knew could help Houston, improved in terms of percentage (33.8 in his rookie season to 39.4) and volume (2.7 attempts per game to 7.0). His scoring went from 4.4 points per game to 13.5. He was sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

But as Sheppard knows after a rough introduction to the postseason in his rookie season, the playoffs are a different beast. In the Rockets’ first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers this year, Sheppard has had to assume even more responsibility with Durant missing three of the series’ four games.

Sheppard saw Game 3 slip from his hands when LeBron James poked the ball away in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, only to have James hit a 3 that would send the game to OT, where the Lakers would win.

Through the first three games of the Lakers series, Sheppard was 12-of-45 (.267) from the field, which included a scoreless Game 2, a flashback to his rookie struggles. In Game 4, he had 17 points, as many as he had in Games 1 and 3, but Sheppard was more efficient, shooting 50 percent from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range. The Rockets will need more of sophomore season Sheppard in Game 5 on Wednesday in Los Angeles if Houston has any hope of continuing the series.

Regardless of how this season ends, Sheppard, the son of two college hoop stars, has a solid support system — his parents.

Jeff and Stacey (née Reed) met while playing basketball in Lexington, Ky. Jeff is a two-time national champion and 1998 Final Four Most Outstanding Player at the University of Kentucky. He played 18 games for the Atlanta Hawks in the 1998-99 season and then professionally in Italy. Stacey was a three-time All-SEC standout during her college days.

Reed was a star player at North Laurel (Ky.) High School with expectations and pressure to perform at an incredibly high level for his school, community and his friends. After gaining national attention, he then took a step and played in the SEC at Kentucky for legendary coach John Calipari.

“The good thing is, he’s had wonderful training his whole life. The noise may not have been as loud as it was his rookie year,” Jeff Sheppard told The Athletic. “The stage may not have been as big as it was on the NBA stage, the talent definitely has never been as good, but there’s always been noise in Reed’s life because he’s the son of two Kentucky basketball players.”

Since Reed’s transition to pro, Stacey spends time in Houston while Jeff tries to get to as many East Coast games as possible.

Sheppard was Kentucky’s highest pick since Karl-Anthony Towns went first in 2015. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker, Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray and Tyler Herro were All-Star guards drafted out of Kentucky during that time.

There was a lot of curiosity surrounding Sheppard and what he could bring to Houston after he was selected with the third pick of the 2024 draft. He credited his parents for supporting him.

“I’ve learned everything from them. They’ve been a huge part of my journey to get here on and off the court,” Reed said. “I went to the gym with my dad to work out.

“I remember me and my mom traveling to all the travel ball games in different places and even talking basketball with her. I have just learned so much from them.”

Being alongside Reed for the start of his career means Jeff has had a front-row seat to what comes with having a son in the NBA.

“There’s a journey that parents of athletes go on,” Jeff said. “It’s some type of a journey. And it’s a thrill. But oftentimes it’s kind of like a roller coaster, wonderful highs, lots of lows, and sometimes you just gotta hold on and not try to throw up.

“It’s a great journey, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

In 10 minutes of play across three games against the Warriors in the first round of last year’s playoffs, Sheppard was scoreless. He shot 0 of 3 and Houston was outscored by 26 when he played. The Rockets didn’t play him at all in the most important game of the season — Game 7. They lost 103-89.

After the challenges of Sheppard’s rookie season, criticism grew.

“There’s a lot of people talking and a lot of noise, both positive and negative in that arena,” Jeff said. “His journey prepared him for his rookie season in the NBA, but it always involved being able to play through victories and defeats, air balls and made shots and fouling out and not fouling out.

“The challenge of not getting to play for the first time was different and unique. So now all of a sudden, a whole ‘nother set of mental and emotional challenges are bombarding him.”

Then news came of VanVleet’s season-ending ACL injury.

“He knew when Fred went down, that more opportunity was there, obviously, but so many times, I think we just overanalyze different situations,” Jeff said. “When I think about Reed and his thought process … and we all overanalyze.

He’s a 21-year-old kid that’s living his dream and loving the opportunity to play basketball and going out there and trying to learn and develop and go win a ball game. As simple as that sounds, that’s where he is.”

But with no VanVleet, the Rockets needed to speed up Sheppard’s development, and he had to tap into what he knew he had within. There was increased pressure from fans and media.

“I’m not on social media, so I don’t read all of the comments,” Jeff said. “I’m not oblivious to articles that are written about him by any means, but I also don’t get consumed with it. The story is either how great you are or how terrible you were. It’s usually not in the middle. It’s always that extreme.

“There’s nothing we can do about how stories are written. They’re either written about the person that has this phenomenal finish, or sometimes this devastating loss.”

Sheppard ignored what was being said and focused on the main thing. He spent most of his offseason in Houston getting ready for his second season. He worked with athletic trainer Brady Welsh, now the strength coach at Vanderbilt, and mental performance coach Jonathan Roche, who has been with Sheppard since his junior year of high school. Through Roche, Sheppard learned to shift his mindset to help him get back to the joy of basketball.

Support not only came from Sheppard’s inner circle, but from the Rockets organization. He also spent his summer with assistant coach Cam Hodges working on his game and getting stronger in the weight room.

He was learning, regrouping and, most importantly, moving forward.

On March 22, Sheppard came up big once again. After a rally by the Miami Heat to take a lead, he hit a floater with 12.7 seconds left to give Houston a 3-point lead to help the Rockets eventually win 123-122.

Sheppard had 23 points, 14 assists, and no turnovers in 37 minutes. With that performance, he became the youngest player in Rockets history with at least 20 points, 10 assists and no turnovers in a game (21 years, 170 days).

“We put it in his hands a ton,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said after the game. “You know, they went zone a lot, so he’s gonna get some of those open looks, but also delivered the ball well.

“And so, it’s kind of picking the zone apart, making the right reads when he got inside, and taking the shots that were there for him. You can see him kind of growing up right in front of your eyes.”

Sheppard was showing growth for the Rockets at the right time.

“I give credit to the team,” Jeff said. “We are spiritual people. We give God the highest praise, and so he leads this team that involves us as parents. You start piecing together all of these members of this team, and then thankfully, you start introducing veteran players that are on the Rockets right now that have made an incredible impact on our son, Jeff Green leading the way. What a veteran. What a man. What a positive influence.”

Sheppard’s village also includes veteran teammates Aaron Holiday, Adams, VanVleet and Durant. The elder players have been sharing both on- and off-the-court advice and encouragement that both Reed and Jeff find to be incredibly meaningful.

“He loves Fred,” Jeff said. “Fred has been a tremendous mentor, not just this season, but ever since he was drafted. Reed was really looking forward to playing with Fred.

“KD’s words have been loud, but his example has been louder. It’s been really cool to see Reed’s development and how he is learning to continue to navigate through things as a young man.”

But even with the good nights, the noise and expectations will always be there. And Sheppard has been preparing for it for quite some time.

“I think sometimes it can be tough, but I think if you have people that you trust and that you love around you and stay true to yourself,” Sheppard said. “There’s a lot that goes on, but I think the biggest thing is just trying to stay humble.

“Stay grateful for every opportunity and just really kind of sinking into that.”

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Shakeia Taylor is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the NBA. Before joining The Athletic, she worked as a sportswriter for the Chicago Tribune. Follow Shakeia on X @curlyfro.