Rockets believe Reed Sheppard will become ‘all-time great’ like Steve Nash

The Houston Rockets ran out of offense in the first round of the NBA playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers, as the loss of Kevin Durant proved costly in a six-game defeat against a shorthanded group led by LeBron James. The Rockets struggled on the offensive end all season long, but without Durant, the situation on that end of the floor went from bleak to untenable.

One of the primary offensive threats that the Rockets tried to rely on without Durant was Reed Sheppard, a former No. 3 overall pick who hasn’t yet found his footing in the WNBA. Sheppard is very talented offensively and has the skillset to be an elite shooter, but that did not play out in the playoffs.

In the six games against the Lakers, Sheppard averaged just over 12 points per game on just over 30% shooting while making just 16-of-54 3-pointers. However, despite the rough series, the Rockets still believe Sheppard can become a great player one day, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Tim McMahon.

“Internally, there’s a belief Sheppard has the potential to develop into an all-time great, such as former Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash, if given enough time and the right conditions,” Shelburne and McMahon wrote.

While that is big praise for Sheppard, the Kentucky product is still very unproven as a lead guard in the NBA. He still only has 24 regular season starts under his belt, and his defensive limitations have made it hard for him to find a consistent spot in Ime Udoka’s rotation.

Other scouts around the league aren’t as sold on Sheppard’s potential.

“More like Steve Kerr,” a rival scout said, per Shelburne and McMahon.

The Rockets have a lot of promising young players, most notably Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, but none of them project to be a lead guard that can score the ball the way Sheppard does if he reaches his ceiling. The Rockets have a lot of questions to answer this offseason after falling flat in the playoffs, but Sheppard’s future outlook may be one of the most pressing ones.

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