The Rockets have made their decision on Reed Sheppard, picking up the fourth-year team option on his rookie scale contract, the team announced today.
That move locks in Sheppard’s salary for the 2027/28 season. He’ll make $11.11MM this season and $14.04MM next season, and then he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency in 2028. Houston would still have a way to keep him out of that market by working out a rookie scale extension during the 2027 offseason.
Sheppard, the No. 3 overall pick in 2024 out of Kentucky, barely saw the floor as a rookie. His role changed sharply in his second NBA season, though, when Fred VanVleet was lost for the year to an ACL tear in 2025/26. With more on his plate, Sheppard played in all 82 regular season games and averaged 26.2 minutes per contest.
He turned that opportunity into a strong stat line: 13.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting .430/.394/.802. That performance also earned him sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Even after VanVleet returned this fall, Sheppard has kept building as a creator. Through Houston’s first four games, all of them wins, he has handed out at least four assists each time.
The Rockets have shown a willingness to secure their young core early, and Sheppard fits that pattern. Houston has already signed Amen Thompson to a rookie scale extension and Tari Eason to a free agent contract ahead of the 2026/27 season, putting Sheppard in line as one of the leading extension candidates among the 2024 first-round class next offseason.
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