Ever since James Harden left the Rockets, one of the key struggles for Houston has been from beyond the three-point line. The stats show that the Rockets fell from attempting 45 threes per game in 2018-19 to 36 threes per game in 2023-24. This was a direct result of coaching changes and Harden’s trade. The Stephen Curry effect on the modern era of basketball makes it very difficult for any franchise to have an efficient offense without a significant number of threes taken and made per game. Therefore, the Rockets had no option but to look to increase their strength from beyond the three-point line.
Lucky for them, they landed the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NBA draft. It allowed them to draft the best shooter in the draft class, by far, Reed Sheppard. He’s also widely believed to be the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year from this draft class. The University of Kentucky product averaged a whopping 52.1 percent from beyond in his freshman season while attempting over 4.4 threes per game. Seeing his impressive debuts in the summer league and the preseason games, there has been a buzz around the league that the Rockets may have found the next Stephen Curry in Reed.
NBA GMs voted for Reed Sheppard to win Rookie of the Year and believe he will become the best player from his draft class five years from now
(Via https://t.co/wWGNmWoaNH) pic.twitter.com/Bv6OAMRgyk
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 8, 2024
Reed Sheppard is Drawing Comparisons to Stephen Curry
In an interview with Vanessa Richardson, second-year player Cam Whitmore was asked what he saw this offseason in rookie Reed Sheppard.
.@reed_sheppard is all OVER
pic.twitter.com/MtRfoPd43H
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) October 3, 2024
Moreover, renowned NBA analyst from Yahoo Sports, Tom Haberstroh, is also endorsing Sheppard’s potential. He feels Sheppard is the closest thing we’ve seen to Stephen Curry in a long time. “He is not Steph Curry, but I think he is the closest thing to Steph Curry that we’ve seen in a long time,” Haberstroh said on “The Kevin O’Connor Show.”
How Will he Fit into the Rockets Team?
While it may be too early on in his career to call him the next Steph Curry, it’s clear that his teammates, front office, and the media have high expectations from him. No wonder he’s all the GMs’ favorite to win Rookie of the Year.
If you watched the Rockets last season, one key element missing was a young, promising point guard to fit the timeline with the rest of the core 6. Fred VanVleet may be a max contract player and a fixed starter for this season, but any Rockets fan knows that he’s not the long-term solution for this young team. Amen Thompson is a young, promising guard, too however, Ime Udoka’s utilization of Amen last season showed that he may be training him to fit the small forward position in the long run. Moreover, the gaps in Amen’s game (his shooting ability from long range) make Reed the perfect pick for this team’s long-term vision. Reed’s ball-handling and passing ability, combined with his shooting prowess, make him the most league-ready guard of this draft class.
I wouldn’t put my money on Reed Sheppard surpassing Stephen Curry in all-time records. However, Reed Sheppard is definitely the favorite to be the Rookie of the Year from this draft class. If the Rockets allow him the same volume that the Warriors allow Steph, then maybe he could be the next Steph Curry.
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