Reed Sheppard gets real on leaving Kentucky for chasing his NBA dream: “It gets you prepared for next level”

Reed Sheppard has opened up on why he decided to leave Kentucky and declare for the 2024 NBA draft. Sheppard played just one season with the Wildcats and left to try his luck in the big leagues.

Sheppard was one of the top prospects heading into the 2024 draft and ended up being selected third overall by the Houston Rockets. At his introductory press conference with the Rockets on Tuesday, Sheppard said playing for coach John Calipari and Kentucky helped him get ready for the NBA.

“I think a lot of that is from Kentucky,” Sheppard said to reporters. “You go there and you get to play for a coach that has put many, many guys in the NBA. You get to go against players that are NBA talent and every day in practice that’s who you go against. So you get better. Everything at Kentucky it gets you prepared for the next level."

Sheppard played in 33 games, starting five, in his lone college season, as he averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds.

At Kentucky, Sheppard believes he became better every day by being coached by Calipari and playing alongside the teammates he had.

“I think it’s huge. Like you said, being from Kentucky, it was always a dream of mine to play at the University of Kentucky. And being able to do that for Coach Cal, who I think is one of the best coaches in the world, and being able to do that with such great teammates,” Sheppard said.

“At Kentucky you get better every day, you get to go against the best players in the world at practice, you have a target on your back every game. So I definitely think it has helped me for being a rookie.”

Sheppard will enter his rookie season with a young and up-and-coming Rockets team.

What would Reed Sheppard's role be for the Rockets in the NBA?

Reed Sheppard will be the backup SG

Reed Sheppard will likely come off the bench in his first season with the Houston Rockets.

Sheppard will be the backup shooting guard to Jalen Green, who is one of the Rockets' top players. But Sheppard still should get plenty of minutes with the Rockets in his rookie season.

“We ended up with Reed as the best player in the draft by quite a bit, the best prospect we thought… and kind of the only guy we were really focused on,” general manager Rafael Stone said, via AP. “So if he had not gotten to us we would have probably traded down or out of the draft. When we had the opportunity to pick him, we jumped on it.”

Reed Sheppard shot 52.1% from 3-point range in his lone college season.