‘New’ Caitlin Clark named star aims to emulate Rookie of the Year | Other | sport

Reed Sheppard of the Houston Rockets has been considered the favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, even before playing a single regular season minute at the professional level. Her skills have drawn comparisons to WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.

In a recent poll of NBA general managers, half of them predicted Sheppard would be crowned the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year. Zach Edey of the Memphis Grizzlies and Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs were the second and third most popular choices, garnering 30% and 13% of the vote respectively.

Sheppard made a name for himself at the Las Vegas Summer League, proving to be one of the most promising young talents in attendance. In his four appearances, he averaged 20 points, 5.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game.

However, Sheppard’s preseason debut with the Rockets was less than stellar, with him shooting just 2-for-7 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point range against the Utah Jazz. The 20-year-old bounced back in Houston’s next game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, posting 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes on the court.

After a string of outstanding performances, Sheppard has garnered high praise from both pundits and peers. Yahoo Sports pundit Tom Haberstroh even compared him to an NBA great on the ‘Kevin O’Connor Show,’ stating, “He’s not Steph Curry, but I think he’s the closest Steph Curry we’ve had seen in a long time.”

Former NBA star Rashad McCants also weighed in on his comparison to WNBA sensation Clark. “I love Reed!!! Lil Caitlin lol,” she commented on social media.

The Houston Rockets would certainly be delighted if Sheppard can live up to the hype suggested by McCants’ praise.

That same month, Clark was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year, receiving 66 of 67 first-place votes. He narrowly missed out on a unanimous victory, with one vote cast by Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky.

During his debut season with the Indiana Fever, Clark started all 40 regular season games, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and a league-leading 8.4 assists per game. Her rookie year saw her set records for most points, assists and three-pointers made by a freshman.

Clark didn’t stop there; broke the single-game and single-season assists records with 19 and 337, respectively, among all WNBA players.

Like Clark, Sheppard has already shown off his exceptional shooting skills from behind the arc. During his time at the University of Kentucky, he boasted an impressive 52.1% field goal percentage from downtown, attempting over 4.4 threes per game.

Sheppard’s first chance to prove his ability on the professional stage will be on Oct. 15, when the Rockets face the New Orleans Pelicans.