After two games and mixed performances at the NBA’s 2025 summer league, the Houston Rockets are shutting down second-year guard Reed Sheppard for the remainder of their five-game slate (as first reported by Kelly Iko, The Athletic).
It’s customary around the league for top prospects to only play a portion of the annual summer-league schedule — particularly if not a rookie — and Sheppard was drafted at No. 3 overall in the 2024 first round.
In two games, Sheppard averaged the following numbers on a per-game basis:
Sheppard was dynamic Friday in a close loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, though he struggled in a convincing loss Sunday versus the Pistons. Collectively, he led the Rockets in many statistical categories.
From an efficiency perspective, one problem for Sheppard may have been that he was among a very small number of proven shooters and scorers on Houston’s 2025 summer-league roster. So, in contrast to the regular season, defenses were able to load up on Sheppard without much fear of being burned by his teammates.
Thus, with the setup not particularly conducive to the 21-year-old putting up big numbers, the Rockets may have decided to err on the side of avoiding injury risks. Television cameras showed Sheppard dealing with a left calf cramp late in Friday’s game, and the Houston Chronicle’s Danielle Lerner reported Monday that Sheppard’s calf was part of the reasoning for his shutdown:
The decision is precautionary, Rockets assistant and summer league coach Garrett Jackson said on Monday. Sheppard originally was slated to play the majority of the Rockets’ four games in Las Vegas but he experienced calf soreness in the closing minutes of Friday’s opener, and the team did not want to risk anything by having him play back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday.
Jackson characterized Sheppard’s calf soreness as “minor.”
Monday afternoon’s matchup versus the Atlanta Hawks, which was the third of the five-game summer schedule, was also part two of a back-to-back following Houston’s loss to Detroit on Sunday. That may have played a role in the decision to shut Sheppard down, as well.
Sheppard is expected to have a rotation role in Houston’s upcoming 2025-26 season, with the Kentucky product currently slotted as the backup to Fred VanVleet at point guard.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: After two games, Rockets shutting down Reed Sheppard at 2025 NBA summer league
Reporting by Ben DuBose, Rockets Wire / Rockets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
