Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Kentucky

Reed Sheppard helps clean tornado devestation in Laurel County, Kentucky

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh05/17/25griffin_mcveigh
reed-sheppard-top-5-pick-the-athletic-updated-nba-mock-draft
Photo by Steve Roberts | USA TODAY Sports

A devastating tornado has ripped through Laurel County, Kentucky. Reports indicate at least 23 people have died and multiple others are in critical condition. Late Friday night into Saturday morning is when the storm took place.

With the weather now calmed down, help was certainly needed to clean up the area and help out the local community. Plenty of people showed up and one of them was Houston Rockets star Reed Sheppard. A former Kentucky player, Sheppard is originally from London, Kentucky. He returned to his home area to provide relief.

“Reed knew the devastation his hometown received and wanted to do something to help,” a Facebook post from Joshua Maxey said Saturday. “He called me up to ask what he could do, I said ‘Just show up man, I’ll pick you up in 20 minutes’ if only for a minute it’ll lift some people who’s lost everything’s spirit. That wasn’t enough for him he had to do more. We’ve worked like dogs for the ebest part of the day and he’s picked up belonging’s, toys, roofs, 2×4’s and everything you can imagine and seen the hurt our people were going through yet all he done was like always, he was just Reed he was one of them.

“Never forgetting where he came from but being a shoulder to cry on to complete strangers and comforting them with words. This is why we ALL LOVE him. He is the epitome of raised right and going above and beyond. Trust me you’ll never find a better human being than Reed Sheppard. He will wanna kill me for taking these pictures but I couldn’t help it, the world needs to know there’s still good people that don’t forget where they came from.”

Sheppard attended North Laurel High School and was one of the state’s all-time great players. He was named Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior before winning the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award as a senior. There was not much debate as to where his college ball would be played.

One season in Lexington was enough to see him go third overall in the 2024 NBA Draft to the Houston Rockets. While the Space City might be where he currently calls home, Sheppard knows where his roots are, as the Facebook post says, in Laurel County. A great gesture from him as his community goes through a tragedy.