After a surprisingly dominant freshman season for Reed Sheppard with the Kentucky Wildcats, should the Orlando Magic trade up for him?
ORLANDO — For his one season of work, Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard statistically is the best college basketball shooter to come along in a generation. He could be the answer to a major problem for the Orlando Magic, but to get him likely would require a trade up into the top of the NBA Draft.
Sheppard currently is projected as high as the No. 3 selection and no lower than No. 6. Orlando has the 18th overall pick. The question for the Magic is do they pursue better 3-point shooting in the draft or in free agency? Whatever choice the Magic make, 19-year-old Sheppard is generating buzz ahead of the June 26-27 draft. “There is a level of certainty tied to his elite shooting, high-IQ passing, and special defensive instincts that holds extra weight during a year when there aren't obvious stars,”. “That could make him more attractive at the top of this particular draft to teams that are unwilling to take risks on bigger projects who may have more upside.” Sheppard was a four-star prospect and rated as the top high school player in the state of Kentucky, yet his college production in at least one category — 3-point shooting — exceeded his lofty expectations and elevated his status in the draft.from three-point range on roughly four attempts per game. and Jason Kapono are the only NBA players in the 21st century to make more than half of their three-point attempts in a single season. Historically, the achievement occurred six other times, and three of those seasons belong to Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr. To be fair, the 3-point distance in college is 20 feet 9 inches. The NBA distance ranges from 22 feet in the corners to 23 feet 9 inches. But Korver and Steve Novak’s career averages both rank in the top 10 for bothA knock on Sheppard is that he’s smaller than both of those men. Standing 6-2 without shoes, Sheppard is a bit small, but All-NBA caliber players like Stephen Curry and Trae Young have proven that shooting can overcome being undersized. Still just 19 years old, Sheppard looks like one of the most promising players in this NBA Draft, and he’s more than a three-point shooter. He had a 69.9 true shooting percentage last season, something only three players accomplished in the NBA this season, and all of them were centers. Sheppard also climbed the Wildcats record books and finished with the second-most steals by a freshman in Kentucky history after averaging 2.5 per game and was the first player in school history with three games of 25-plus points, 5-plus rebounds, and 5-plus assists in a single-season,At the NBA Combine, Sheppard turned heads with a 42-inch vertical jump. The teenager’s game is already polished as a shooter, but with his steals, assists, and leaping ability also jumping off the page in evaluations, it's tempting to imagine just how much better he could get in the pros as he continues to refine his game.selflessly about his game, saying that he didn’t care whether he had to pass, shoot, or get water for his teammates. All he cared about was doing whatever it took to win. His versatility could make him a good fit on the Magic’s roster. Orlando allowed the second-fewest points in the league last season defensively, and Sheppard's ballhawking could pair well with NBA All-Defense honoree Jalen Suggs. If Orlando could trade up from the No. 18 pick and draft Sheppard, the team could remain defensively dominant while adding offensive firepower.Related stories on the Orlando Magic: Orlando Magic All-Star forward Paolo Banchero is undoubtedly one of the best young players in the NBA, but is No. 9 too low in The Ringer's "Best of the Next Generation" list?
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