Of all the rookie seasons we’ve seen in recent memory, Reed Sheppard‘s was certainly one of them. The former Kentucky superstar had moments of brilliance — he went for 25 points, five assists and two steals at Oklahoma City in March, then 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in Los Angeles against the Clippers in April. He was also held scoreless 17 times with 22 single-digit-minute performances in 55 total appearances out of 89 games for the Houston Rockets.

Averaging 12.6 minutes per game in the regular season and 3.3 in the postseason, there just wasn’t a real role ready for Sheppard to take on as a rookie, despite coming in as the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2024.

That’s expected to change in year two, though, potentially setting up the biggest leap of all sophomores going into the 2025-26 season — should he make the most of his extended time on the floor, of course. ESPN expects that to be the case for the former Wildcat, listing Sheppard as the “most interesting” of the entire draft class.

“This is not an evaluation of who are the best or most valuable rising sophomores — it’s simply the players I’m most curious about headed into training camp,” ESPN’s Jeremy Woo wrote.

He didn’t have a rookie season superlative to give Sheppard — “there wasn’t all that much to say about (it),” he wrote, but “he did score 49 points in a G League game, and Houston remains excited about him as he steps into more minutes on a team with high aspirations.”

Following Houston’s trade for Kevin Durant and Jalen Green’s departure, though, he’s ranked at the top of the list because “the Rockets cleared significant backcourt minutes for Sheppard, who currently pencils in for a real role behind Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson.”

Now, the opportunity is there for Laurel County’s finest. ESPN believes he’ll take advantage of it.

“While he wasn’t especially noteworthy at summer league, Sheppard is worthy of optimism — he should be walking into an ideal role as a secondary handler, playmaker and spacer who can both operate off of and make life easier for Houston’s stars,” Woo wrote. “His shooting will be pivotal next to Thompson and Alperen Sengun, but he’ll also need to remain effective defensively, as the Rockets will be giving up a good deal of perimeter size when VanVleet and Sheppard share the floor.

“Sheppard’s instincts for winning possessions help him on that end, but he’s not exactly a deterrent for opposing shooters, either.”

It wasn’t that Sheppard was good or bad as a rookie, he just didn’t get to showcase his abilities either way. The sample size was too small to know.

That can’t be said about what’s to come in year two, a chance for him to play a key role in Houston’s push for a championship.

“Sheppard has the chance to be a huge swing factor in Houston’s title chase — in theory, he’s stepping into the perfect situation,” Woo continued. “The question is whether next season is the right time and how the Rockets might have to adjust their depth accordingly. The simple fact is that we haven’t really seen him yet, and what it means for Houston’s place in the arc of this season earns him the top spot on this list.”

A reminder of what No. 15 is capable of:

Go get ’em, Reed.