New’ Caitlin Clark named as star aims to emulate WNBA Rookie of the Year success
A promising talent is being primed to repeat Caitlin Clark’s achievements in her rookie season.
Houston Rockets’ Reed Sheppard has been tipped as a favourite to clinch the NBA Rookie of the Year award, even before playing a single regular-season minute at the professional level. His skills have drawn comparisons with WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.
In a recent poll conducted among NBA General Managers, half of them predicted that 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, securing 30 per cent and 13 per cent of the votes respectively.
Sheppard made a name for himself in the Summer League in Las Vegas, proving to be one of the most promising young talents present. 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 subsequent game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, racking up 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 23 minutes on the court.
After a series of standout performances, Sheppard has garnered high praise from pundits and peers alike. Yahoo Sports insider Tom Haberstroh even likened him to an NBA great on the ‘Kevin O’Connor Show’, stating: “He’s not Steph Curry, but I think he is the closest thing to Steph Curry we’ve seen in a long time.”
Former NBA star Rashad McCants also weighed in with his comparison to WNBA sensation Clark. “I rocks wit Reed! ! ! Lil Caitlin lol,” he commented on social media.
The Houston Rockets would no doubt be thrilled if Sheppard could live up to the hype suggested by McCants’ high praise.
Reed Sheppard has already been compared to Caitlin Clark.
Just this month, Clark was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year, securing 66 out of 67 first-place votes. She narrowly missed out on a unanimous win, with one vote cast for Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese instead.
During her debut season with the Indiana Fever, Clark started all 40 regular-season games, averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and leading the league with 8.4 assists per game. Her rookie year saw her set records for the most points, assists, and three-pointers made by a first-year player.
Clark didn’t stop there; she went on to break the records for both the single-game and single-season assists, with 19 and 337 respectively, across all WNBA players.
Reed Sheppard in Summer League action for the Houston Rockets.
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