The 2025-26 NBA season has been an incredible developmental yr for Houston Rockets second-year guard Reed Sheppard. He’s immersed himself as one of the Rockets’ younger prospects with arguably the highest ceiling.
Sheppard can also be one of the Rockets’ finest long-range shooters, if not the finest long-range shooter on the roster. Sheppard is taking pictures 39 p.c from deep on a good quantity of 6.8 makes an attempt per contest on the season.
Dating again to the All-Star break, he is been the Rockets’ finest shooter, when factoring in quantity, as he is made 40.2 p.c of his makes an attempt on a team-leading 7.5 outdoors makes an attempt per contest, which spans 13 video games.
The Rockets are devoid of 3-point specialists and it reveals statistically. To add colour to that, the Rockets have the fourth-fewest made 3-point area objectives and the second-fewest long-range makes an attempt.
Sheppard additionally has the means to fill in as Houston’s pick-and-roll maestro, which has been on show all through the season time and time once more. Sheppard is arguably Houston’s largest X-factor on the offensive finish of the flooring, as he is one of the solely gamers with the means to create offense for himself.
With or with no display, Sheppard can provoke offense. And in line with ESPN’s Richard Jefferson, Sheppard ought to be in main consideration for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
“Reed Sheppard’s gotta be up there for Most Improved. When you look at the start of the season last year, the first game of the year, with how much he has improved throughout the season, it’s been impressive.
He’s doing it on a playoff team. He’s doing it on the number three team. So you have that increase, when you have this amount of talent around you, that’s very, very difficult to do for a young player.”
Sheppard has been the Rockets’ fourth-leading scorer since the All-Star break, tied with wing/guard Amen Thompson at 14 factors. As it pertains to the dialog relating to the Most Improved Player award, he is had a 9 level leap year-over-year because it pertains to his scoring common.
Last season, he averaged 4.4 factors on a nightly foundation and this season he has averaged 13.5 factors. It may even work in his favor that he is already surpassed the league’s 65-game minimal requirement, having already performed 66 video games.
For instance, Utah Jazz scoring guard Keyonte George would definitely garner critical consideration for the award, having averaged 23.6 factors and 6.1 assists, nevertheless, he is probably out for the season and has performed in simply 54 video games on the season.
He’d nonetheless face critical competitors for the award, as Jalen Duren, Ryan Rollins and Jalen Johnson all determine to garner reliable consideration. Blazers prospect Deni Avidja may even be in critical consideration for the award after making the All-Star workforce.
But Sheppard has had a superb season and his year-over-year progress and/or enchancment cannot be ignored.
