LAS VEGAS — For the final four minutes of the first quarter of his NBA Summer League debut, Reed Sheppard, with just three points to his name, sat on the bench in silence. And watched. There was no small talk with teammates.
There was no momentary tapping of the shoulder of an assistant coach for in-game advice. Just the newest Houston Rockets guard and his thoughts, alone amid a ravenous crowd inside the Thomas &Mack Center. The nerves were there, but in truth, they never really depart Sheppard’s side.
Every competitive basketball game as far back as Sheppard can remember has been this way: at North Laurel High School, within the hallowed halls at the University of Kentucky and now with the Rockets, having just turned 20 years old a few weeks ago and still learning how to play with people he just met. The irony is that it’s in those moments, when the noise surrounding you is almost deafening, when clarity and understanding permeate the surface. “It’s basketball,” Sheppard, picked third overall in last month’s NBA Draft, said following the Rockets’ 99-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
“There’s highs and lows, nobody’s perfect. So just keeping a positive mindset through it all and going out and having fun, playing basketball the right way.” Through Sheppard’s seated observations, he could see gaps in the Lakers defense to exploit.
He could envision how to leverage his elite shooting with the spacing his other teammates could provide..