Grading Reed Sheppard’s Summer League Performance After Rockets Shut Him Down

The Rockets have decided to shut down Reed Sheppard, the former Kentucky star, for the remainder of the NBA 2K26 Summer League. The star sophomore was one of the most exciting talents to play in this year’s Summer League edition, as the Rockets are locked in on helping the former Wildcat reach his true potential. 

Let’s take a look at how Sheppard has performed in the Summer League this season and assess what his experience means to the team. 

Reed Sheppard: B+

After a strong display in Game 1 of the Summer League, Sheppard saw a sharp decline in his form in the second game. In Game 1, he had 28 points, eight rebounds, four steals, four assists, and three blocks while making 6-of-15 shots from three-point range (40.0%).

An absolutely RIDICULOUS stat line from Reed Sheppard in his opening game of #NBASummer

🚀 28 PTS
🚀 8 REB
🚀 6 3PM
🚀 4 AST
🚀 4 STL
🚀 3 BLK pic.twitter.com/TuoroI4wPA

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) July 12, 2025

Subsequently, in Game 2, he had 18 points, but six turnovers, four steals, and only one assist while shooting just 31.6% from the field and 14.3% from three-point range. It was likely just a bad day for him, nothing to be very concerned about. But the lack of consistency compels a penalty in a potential ‘A grade’ performance from the 21-year-old point guard. 

Rockets: A

The Rockets have given Reed Sheppard the necessary run he needed in the offseason, but have decided against letting him play for the remainder of the Summer League since the Rockets went down 0-2. 

As the Rockets are essentially no longer in contention for the Summer League title, there is no point in risking injury to the young starlet heading into what could be the most important season of his career.

The Rockets decided on trading Jalen Green away and refused to include Reed Sheppard in the trade package for Kevin Durant, seeing him as a potential replacement for Fred VanVleet in the starting lineup within the next two seasons. Therefore, his development is the key growth the Rockets need to focus on in the coming season.  

In the 2024-25 season, the Rockets and their veterans, like VanVleet, were locked in on helping Jalen Green reach his maximum potential. Hence, a lot of the veterans were also focused on helping him succeed. Now with him in the Suns, Sheppard becomes the next protégé for VanVleet to potentially train. 

Sheppard’s Summer League run was mainly aimed at helping him gain the confidence to lead a team in an atmosphere potentially similar to the NBA regular season. 

My one positive takeaway for Sheppard is that he has the confidence to never be afraid to let it fly from distance, as he seems to have an undying faith in his shooting abilities. However, it also makes him take some reckless shots that may not be acceptable to Ime Udoka at the NBA level. 

Whereas my one negative takeaway from Sheppard’s Summer League performance is that it is concerning to see a point guard average 2.5 assists per game at a time when a better playmaker is not even clearly there on the team, like Alperen Sengun would be or Amen Thompson would be during the regular season. 

On multiple instances when Sheppard could have run the plays for his teammates, he created his own shot instead. And it is understandable at this level for him not to be concerned about his teammates. But if he has to replace VanVleet in the starting lineup eventually, then he has to improve his playmaking skills and not just focus on scoring.