Reed Sheppard on being untouchable in the Durant trade and who's the better shooter

Before Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves faced off in the opening game of the Las Vegas Summer League on Thursday afternoon, their old Kentucky teammate, Reed Sheppard, joined ESPN’s pregame set for an interview. Sheppard, who was at the Thomas & Mack Center to support his fellow Wildcats, made his first nationally televised appearance since his Houston Rockets were a part of the NBA’s trade of the summer, adding Kevin Durant to next season’s roster and championship aspirations.

On Thursday, Sheppard was asked if he was still considered Houston’s best shooter now that Durant is a Rocket. Sheppard surrendered the title to the future Hall of Famer, saying, “No, I gotta prove it a little bit first. He’s proved it for a while.”

He added, “It’ll be fun to have some shooting competition with him, though.”

“Untouchable”

There were reports around the Durant trade that Sheppard was untouchable in the deal with Phoenix. Houston is all in on Sheppard in its backcourt, so he was off-limits in any trade negotiations this summer.

Sheppard told Shams Charania that he never had that conversation with the Rockets about being untouchable. Still, he admitted he’s aware of his situation going into his second season. “Hearing some of that stuff is it’s pretty cool. It gives me a lot of confidence.”

Defense has been a priority this summer as Sheppard trains to take on a new role. He said he had a two- or three-week stretch of working out without a basketball, focusing only on defense. He also prioritized his strength and physicality.

On Friday, Sheppard’s second run in the summer league begins on the second night in Las Vegas, where he was the star as a rookie last summer. Catch him on NBATV Friday night at 10 p.m., among the many other games with former Wildcats.

Las Vegas Summer League Schedule

Thursday, July 10

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
3:30 PM	New Orleans Pelicans (Antonio Reeves, Keion Brooks)	Minnesota Timberwolves (Rob Dillingham)	ESPN2, ESPN+
5:00 PM	Cleveland Cavaliers (Jaxson Robinson)	Indiana Pacers	NBATV, ESPN+
9:30 PM	Denver Nuggets	Milwaukee Bucks (Chris Livingston)	NBATV, ESPN+
10:00 PM	San Antonio Spurs	Philadelphia 76ers (Justin Edwards)	ESPN, ESPN+

Friday, July 11

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
4:00 PM	Memphis Grizzlies	Boston Celtics (Amari Williams)	NBATV, ESPN+
4:30 PM	Atlanta Hawks (Lamont Butler, Jacob Toppin)	Miami Heat	ESPN2, ESPN+
6:00 PM	Detroit Pistons	New York Knicks (Lance Ware)	NBA TV, ESPN+
9:00 PM	Washington Wizards	Phoenix Suns (Koby Brea)	ESPN, ESPN+
10:00 PM	LA Clippers	Houston Rockets (Reed Sheppard)	NBATV, ESPN+
11:00 PM	Portland Trail Blazers (Andrew Carr)	Golden State Warriors	ESPN2, ESPN+

Saturday, July 12

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
3:30 PM	Cleveland Cavaliers (Jaxson Robinson)	Milwaukee Bucks (Chris Livingston)	NBATV, ESPN+
6:30 PM	Charlotte Hornets	Philadelphia 76ers (Justin Edwards)	ESPN2, ESPN+
8:30 PM	Los Angeles Lakers	New Orleans Pelicans (Antonio Reeves, Keion Brooks)	ESPN2, ESPN+
10:00 PM	Minnesota Timberwolves (Rob Dillingham)	Denver Nuggets	NBATV, ESPN+
10:30 PM	Memphis Grizzlies	Portland Trail Blazers (Andrew Carr)	ESPN2, ESPN+

Sunday, July 13

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
3:30 PM	Phoenix Suns (Koby Brea)	Atlanta Hawks (Lamont Butler, Jacob Toppin)	NBATV, ESPN+
4:00 PM	Detroit Pistons	Houston Rockets (Reed Sheppard)	ESPN2, ESPN+
5:30 PM	New York Knicks (Lance Ware)	Boston Celtics (Amari Williams)	NBATV, ESPN+
7:30 PM	Miami Heat	Cleveland Cavaliers (Jaxson Robinson)	NBATV, ESPN+
9:30 PM	Milwaukee Bucks (Chris Livingston)	LA Clippers	NBATV, ESPN+

Monday, July 14

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
4:30 PM	Atlanta Hawks (Lamont Butler, Jacob Toppin)	Houston Rockets (Reed Sheppard)	NBATV, ESPN+
8:00 PM	Boston Celtics (Amari Williams)	Miami Heat	ESPNU, ESPN+
10:00 PM	Phoenix Suns (Koby Brea)	Sacramento Kings	ESPNU, ESPN+

Tuesday, July 15

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
4:30 PM	Minnesota Timberwolves (Rob Dillingham)	Detroit Pistons	ESPN2, ESPN+
6:00 PM	New York Knicks (Lance Ware)	Brooklyn Nets	ESPN2, ESPN+
8:30 PM	Philadelphia 76ers (Justin Edwards)	Washington Wizards	NBATV, ESPN+
10:00 PM	Portland Trail Blazers (Andrew Carr)	Memphis Grizzlies	NBATV, ESPN+

Wednesday, July 16

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
3:30 PM	Sacramento Kings	Cleveland Cavaliers (Jaxson Robinson)	ESPN2, ESPN+
5:00 PM	Phoenix Suns (Koby Brea)	Minnesota Timberwolves (Rob Dillingham)	NBATV, ESPN+
5:30 PM	Milwaukee Bucks (Chris Livingston)	Chicago Bulls	ESPN2, ESPN+
8:00 PM	Dallas Mavericks	Philadelphia 76ers (Justin Edwards)	ESPN, ESPN+
9:30 PM	New Orleans Pelicans (Antonio Reeves, Keion Brooks)	OKC Thunder	NBATV, ESPN+

Thursday, July 17

TIME (ET)	HOME	AWAY	TV/STREAMING
4:30 PM	Indiana Pacers	New York Knicks (Lance Ware)	ESPN2, ESPN+
6:00 PM	Atlanta Hawks (Lamont Butler, Jacob Toppin)	Memphis Grizzlies	NBATV, ESPN+
8:00 PM	Houston Rockets (Reed Sheppard)	Portland Trail Blazers (Andrew Carr)	NBATV, ESPN+
9:00 PM	Boston Celtics (Amari Williams)	Los Angeles Lakers	ESPN, ESPN+

Kentucky players in the 2025 NBA Summer League

Player	Team	Number
Amari Williams	Boston Celtics	77
Andrew Carr	Portland Trailblazers	64
Antonio Reeves	New Orleans Pelicans	12
Chris Livingston	Philadelphia 76ers	7
Jacob Toppin	Atlanta Hawks	00
Jaxson Robinson	Cleveland Cavaliers	14
Justin Edwards	Phildadelphia 76ers	19
Keion Brooks	New Orleans Pelicans	11
Koby Brea	Phoenix Suns	14
Lamont Butler	Atlanta Hawks	31
Lance Ware	New York Knicks	45
Reed Sheppard	Houston Rockets	15
Rob Dillingham	Minnesota Timberwolves	4