Reed Sheppard cooking at Summer League!

[Im Still Ballin]

Handles looking good.

[Neal Romer]

Modern Mark Price?

[Im Still Ballin]

Modern Mark Price?

Maybe! He's way more of a defensive playmaker though. Racks up the steals and blocks. Maybe Mark Price on offense and Derrick White on defense. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...

[Im Still Ballin]

Not only have the handles looked good, but the mid-range and floater shots have been on point. This is promising...

[Carbine]

Derrick White on defense.....

Between that and Chet being KD on offense I've seen some wild comps here on ish that make no sense whatsoever.

Derrick White is an all NBA level defender.

This guy will be Steph Curry on defense at the very best and a complete hunted liability at worst

[Im Still Ballin]

No one's saying he will be anything. He could, is the important word to focus on. Reed was known for his unusually high steal and block rates in college despite his size. So far over two SL games, he's accumulated 6 steals and 4 blocks - 3.0 spg and 2.0 bpg. In 30.9 minutes per game to boot.

Game 1: 1 steal and 3 blocks (29.8 minutes played)
Game 2: 5 steals and 1 block (32 minutes played)

In college, Reed averaged 2.5 spg and 0.7 bpg in 28.9 mpg. 3.4 steals and 1.0 block per 40. 4.6% steal percentage and 2.5% block percentage. Those are outlier numbers for his size.

He's obviously not going to be exactly Derrick White defensively because he's a couple of inches shorter in height and a few inches less in wingspan. More like a Nash/Curry-sized Stockton on defense with some of that undersized shot-blocking factor that Derrick White has.

He's undeniably a defensive playmaker who plays bigger than his size. That's the general comparison to Derrick White that I was making.

[GOBB]

Drafting a Kentucky guard you’re in good business. You can almost bet they will be productive for your team.

[Akeem34TheDream]

I don't wanna brag but we lookin real nice

[ralph_i_el]

Derrick White on defense.....

Between that and Chet being KD on offense I've seen some wild comps here on ish that make no sense whatsoever.

Derrick White is an all NBA level defender.

This guy will be Steph Curry on defense at the very best and a complete hunted liability at worst


I think this is going to age badly. This kid is everywhere on defense.

[ralph_i_el]

College steal rates are actually one of the best measures of functional athleticism at the NBA level.

[Im Still Ballin]

College steal rates are actually one of the best measures of functional athleticism at the NBA level.

I've heard that before. I can't remember what analyst/analytics guy uncovered it. But Reed's block and steal rates were routinely brought up by the numbers-focused draft guys online.

[tontoz]

I definitely would have taken Sheppard at 2 over Sarr. I watched several KY games and Reed was very impressive, especially when he really decided to take over.

I haven't been impressed with Sarr at all. :(

Carrington looks good though.

[90sgoat]

If a white american point guard is drafted in the top 3, then you know he has to be an exceptional talent.

[gbaLL]

cLA$$

https://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/99ec6ea/17177859217/resize/800x540%3E/quality/85/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.beam.usnews.com%2F52%2F62 cb9b7517388be2f751cc428ce4b4%2FGood_morning_1.jpg

[Im Still Ballin]

Reed got the OG seal of approval!


Mark Price
@Mark25Price

I just watched some highlights of @reed_sheppard at @NBASummerLeague ! He sure reminds me of a former NBA all star�� This young man has a bright future!

https://x.com/Mark25Price/status/1812939713977983149

[Thorpesaurous]

If a white american point guard is drafted in the top 3, then you know he has to be an exceptional talent.

It's the first time that the first American drafted has been white since ... Kent Bensen in 1977!

The Stock rate was super hyped by a ton of the analytics guys, but in addition to that, he showed up at the combine and measured out great athletically. Including the top vertical number iirc. And he's an elite shooter.