Reed Sheppard Opens Year Three Stretches With Double-Figure Scoring Off the Bench
Reed Sheppard is three games into his third Houston season and already scoring in double figures twice. He is not on the injury report. Last season he averaged 13.5 points as a full-time piece of the Rockets' rotation.
By the Rockets Nightly Desk · updated 6 d ago01The story of the nightThree games in, the scoring is already thereReed Sheppard has played three games to start 2026-27 and he's found his shot in two of them.
Reed Sheppard has played three games to start 2026-27 and he's found his shot in two of them. He scored 16 points in 18.7 minutes in a win over Dallas on October 9, then 17 points in 24.6 minutes in a loss to the same Mavericks two days later on October 11. On October 15 against Oklahoma City he had a quieter line, 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in just 16.1 minutes, in a Rockets win. The minutes have moved around game to game, but the scoring punch off the bench has shown up right away.
02Last season's full-season numbersSheppard played all 82 games last season and averaged 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 26.2 minutes a night.
Sheppard played all 82 games last season and averaged 13.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 26.2 minutes a night. He added 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game, with 1.5 turnovers. His plus-minus for the season was +3.4, a sign the Rockets were better with him on the floor. That workload, a full 82-game season at nearly 26 minutes a night, marked him as a real rotation piece in Houston rather than a situational player.
03The shooting profileSheppard shot 43.0 percent from the field last season and 39.4 percent from three, numbers that back up his…
Sheppard shot 43.0 percent from the field last season and 39.4 percent from three, numbers that back up his reputation as a knockdown shooter. He also hit 80.2 percent of his free throws. Put together, his true shooting percentage came in at 56.4, and he did it while using 21.0 percent of Houston's possessions when he was on the floor. That is an efficient profile for a guard who is also handling the ball and creating for others, not just standing in the corner waiting for a catch-and-shoot look.
04Health checkSheppard is not on the injury report right now.
Sheppard is not on the injury report right now. There is nothing in his injury history to track, no nagging issue carried over from last season and nothing new popping up through the first three games of 2026-27. For a guard whose value is tied to being available every night, as he showed by playing all 82 games last season, a clean bill of health heading into the year is worth noting on its own.
05The backgroundSheppard is 22 years old and heading into his second NBA season, wearing number 15 for Houston.
Sheppard is 22 years old and heading into his second NBA season, wearing number 15 for Houston. He's a 6-2, 189-pound guard out of Kentucky. He finished last season with Houston as well, so this is a continuation of the same role rather than a new fit to work out. The combination of size, shooting touch and the ballhandling numbers from last season point to a guard the Rockets expect to keep leaning on in a similar role this season.
06What to watch nextThe minutes swing from game to game early on, 16.1 against Oklahoma City, 24.6 against Dallas, 18.7 in the opener…
The minutes swing from game to game early on, 16.1 against Oklahoma City, 24.6 against Dallas, 18.7 in the opener against Dallas, and that is the thing to track as the season goes on. There is no trade buzz or rumor attached to Sheppard right now. With last season's 13.5 points and 39.4 percent three-point shooting as his baseline, the early returns, two double-figure scoring games in three tries, suggest he can hold or improve on that production once his role settles into a more consistent rotation spot.
Sheppard13.5 ppg
Jr.13.5 ppg
