Reed Sheppard’s path in 2026-27 is already looking narrow, and that changes the conversation around what a “successful” season actually looks like.
The Rockets used the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Sheppard, so the expectations that followed were always going to be loud. But with the way Houston has set up its backcourt, this isn’t shaping up to be a season where raw totals tell the whole story.
Houston passed on making Sheppard its starting point guard in 2025-26, instead going with Amen Thompson, who’s probably not a point guard. That alone makes the situation feel less like a runway and more like a squeeze.
Allegedly, Rafael Stone sees Sheppard as the American Steve Nash. Ime Udoka seems to see him more as a poor man’s JJ Redick.
Either way, the opportunity isn’t screaming “feature role.”
Sheppard posted a 21.0% Usage Percentage, which put him in the mix with names like Danisse Jenkins and Dennis Schroder, along with a bunch of definitely-not-point guards. And the future rotation only looks tighter.
Fred VanVleet is set to return in 2026-27, and the Rockets also added Marcus Smart, the living embodiment of Ime Udoka backcourt play. That makes it hard to picture Sheppard’s usage, or his minutes, jumping dramatically.
So the smarter way to judge him is by what he does with the chances he gets.
In 2025-26, Sheppard averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.1 turnovers per 75 possessions. He hit 39.4% from three on 10.0 attempts per game and finished with a 56.4% True Shooting %.
The scoring volume was fine. The next step is making it cleaner and more dangerous.
The three-point shooting, oddly enough, is one area where the bar still needs to rise. He already shot it well, but if Sheppard is going to approach his ceiling, he needs to become one of the best shooters in the league. Getting that number into the low-to-mid 40s on similar volume would be the kind of leap that changes how defenses treat him.
If the shot at the rim improves instead, that would help too, though that’s a tougher ask for a guard who isn’t especially big. Either way, the target is clear: that 56.4% TS% needs to get closer to 60.0%.
Defense could also make the whole picture look different. If Sheppard put up the same per-75 numbers and suddenly became a strong point-of-attack defender, that would absolutely count as a successful season. But nobody should be counting on that as the most likely outcome.
Playmaking is another area where the next step has to show up. Either the assists need to climb or the turnovers need to come down.
It would be acceptable if the efficiency slipped a bit as the volume rose. The clean version is somewhere in the range of six or seven assists per 75 with three or four turnovers.
Another workable version is staying around five assists per night while trimming about half a turnover per 75.
If Sheppard lands around 20 points, 7 assists, and 3 turnovers per 75, with roughly 42% three-point shooting on the same volume and only modest defensive improvement, that’s a good season.
The hard part is figuring out where that leaves him. Even if he hits those marks in the same minutes he had last year, the long-term answer still isn’t obvious.
Barring regression from VanVleet, and maybe even Smart, Sheppard probably isn’t cracking the starting lineup in 2026-27. That means the evaluation has to stay focused on the role he already has, not the one people once imagined.
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That backdrop helps explain why Stone recently spent an extended stretch in Trkiye with All-Star center Alperen Sengun after the big man sought better communication from him. It also comes as former No. 3 pick Reed Sheppard continues to prepare for his third NBA season by improving his physical conditioning, another small but meaningful sign that the Rockets are trying to clean up the edges around a team that is drawing praise in some areas and scrutiny in others. [Read more 🡒]