Nuggets' David Adelman Impressed by Rockets G Reed Sheppard

It was far from the Houston Rockets' night in what would end up as a blowout to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, falling 93-129 in Ball Arena for one of their biggest losses of the 2025-26 season.

But irrespective of the results between both sides, there remains some considerable respect for what the Rockets bring to the table for Nuggets head coach David Adelman, and particularly when it comes to their second-year guard, Reed Sheppard.

Before the Nuggets faced off against the Rockets, Adelman spoke about what he's seen from Sheppard watching from afar throughout his second year in Houston, crediting him as a "big-time offensive player" and a "really fun" player to watch.

"Yeah, he’s a big-time offensive player obviously, he’s a shot-maker," Adelman said of Sheppard pregame. "Your game plan also depends on who’s on the court with him. If you’re super aggressive with him and Kevin Durant is on the court, it doesn’t make a lot of sense because then the ball is finding Kevin Durant in a closeout situation. If he’s out there with the bench and it’s him and he’s the main guy, you can be much more aggressive with him. You can try to make him give the ball up."

"So, he’s developed, it’s a great example of a guy who didn’t play a lot his first year. You can tell he kept his head down, kept improving, and then obviously the [Fred] VanVleet injury. Sometimes that’s what has to happen to give somebody an opportunity that he’s had. I think it was out of necessity at first and then he earned it. He’s a really fun player to watch on the offensive end."

Nuggets' David Adelman Taking Note of Reed Sheppard's Improvement

It wasn't quite Sheppard's night against the Nuggets once it came down to gametime. In his 27 minutes off the bench, he shot 4-12 from the field for nine points with two assists and three turnovers, also turning out to have Houston's worst plus-minus on the roster for the game at -26.

But regardless of a poor shooting night, it shouldn't discount the type of development that Sheppard has shown throughout his second year in Houston; one that's been miles ahead of his rookie campaign, where he didn't quite see the biggest and best opportunity within the rotation.