2024 NBA Mock Draft: March Madness arrives, as does Kentucky's backcourt
. Reed Sheppard. G. Kentucky. 5. 64. 5. . Reed Sheppard. player
Reed Sheppard defies all conventional wisdom as a projected top-five pick, but sometimes, you simply need to draft the best player available. The 19-year-old — son of two-time Kentucky champ Jeff Sheppard — has embraced his sixth man role with the Wildcats. He's playing well north of 30 minutes per game at this point in the season, despite coming off the bench. He has been Kentucky's best player and the best freshman in college basketball.
The shooting efficiency is legitimately historic. Sheppard is drilling 51.7 percent of his 3s, finding success from multiple areas on the floor. That alone is enough to plant him on NBA radars. What makes Sheppard special, however, is all the ancilary traits. He's a razor-sharp processor who continues to do more and more on-ball. He has enough zip on his first step to penetrate the defense and create off drives. Even if he's not a great finisher due to his limited size and explosivness, Sheppard can lean back on the floater or drill pull-up jumpers. He also happens to defend his position at an extremely high level.
It's time for Detroit to play functional, winning basketball. Sheppard can feast on spot-up 3s working off of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. The Pistons would have a ton of resources invested in the backcourt, but spacing and general basketball I.Q. are points of weakness for this Detroit team. Sheppard helps a ton.