Rockets' Reed Sheppard Ranks as HoopsHype's Fifth-Best Sixth Man

Much was made about Reed Sheppard potentially taking on a bigger role for the Houston Rockets in 2025-26. It wasn't as clear if he'd be able to actually successfully fulfill a role with higher expectations.

On the one hand, Sheppard was the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft (although much has also been made about that being a fairly weak draft class), he also didn't impress as a rookie.

Chalk it up to a lack of playing time and meaningful reps. Such is life for contending teams with ambitions of making a championship run.

Or even taking a postseason dive.

Rookies get buried on the depth chart, in favor of proven performers.

Coaches want more of a sure thing. Upside and potential get shelved.

Sheppard played just 12.6 minutes per contest, but the team won 52 games and finished second-best in the Western Conference. 

And the Rockets ended their postseason drought, which spanned nearly half a decade.

However, the Rockets' guard room took a major shakeup, following the trade that sent Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the desert.

And Fred VanVleet's fateful, untimely ACL injury in minicamp erased any doubt about whether Sheppard would receive an uptick in playing time, whether he was ready or not. 

And at the onset of the 2025-26 season, it didn't seem as though Sheppard was ready.

He went 3-of-11 on opening night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with just nine points.

Quite the dud for what was supposed to be a bounce back season.

The second game of the season for the Rockets was another disaster class for Sheppard.

Another 3-for-11 performance with 9 points. 

It didn't have long for Sheppard to shake back and shelve the early season jitters.

He scored double figures in 22 of the Rockets' next 29 games and is now averaging 13.5 points, 3.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 45.5 percent from the field, 42 percent from long distance territory (on a healthy 6.2 attempts), 57.6 effective field goal percentage, 78 percent from the free throw line and 59.2 percent true shooting. 

In an off-ball role. 

There have been calls to employ Sheppard in an on-ball role, using him as the Rockets' table-setter and facilitator.

He's the Rockets' best pick-and-roll guard. 

And according to HoopsHype, he's the league's fifth-best Sixth Man.

The ranking is based on the site's Global Rating, which combines both individual and team stats to chart players' overall impact on the court.

It also factors missed games, which Sheppard has yet to do this season. 

As of this writing, Sheppard has a 13.5 rating, while San Antonio Spurs wing Keldon Johnson ranks first with a 14.04 rating.

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