NEW YORK — Two Kentucky Wildcats heard their names called in the first top 10 picks of the 2024 NBA Draft. Reed Sheppard went No. 3 overall and Rob Dillingham was picked No. 8 on Wednesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
After just one season as a Wildcat, guard Reed Sheppard is the Houston Rockets. The team drafted the London, Kentucky native with the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Sheppard was the first collegiate player to come off the board, and the third Kentucky guard selected in the top five in the last 30 years.
“I’m super excited,” Sheppard said. “I’m a guy going in who is looking to learn. He’s going to do whatever it takes to win. If it’s not making 3s right away, it’s getting teammates involved. Whatever it takes to win and be on the court, I’m going to do whatever makes the team better.”
Through 33 games, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals as a freshman during the 2023-24 season. He hit double-digits in 21 games and shot 52.1% from 3-point range. According to ESPN, no first-round pick from college has ever shot over 50% from 3 since Glen Rice at Michigan in 1988-89.
Sheppard also led the team with 148 assists on the season, ranking as the eighth-most in single-season history by a Wildcat. His 82 steals were the second-most by a player in program history, trailing just Rajon Rondo.
He was named the National Freshman of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches April 2 and was the first player from Kentucky to win the award since its inception in 2017. The United States Basketball Writers Association also named him its top freshman.
The Rockets are coming off a 41-41 season, finishing 11th in the Western Conference and third in the Southwest Division after going a lowly 59-177 over the previous three seasons combined. They have not made the playoffs since 2019-20, ending a run of eight straight postseason appearances in which they made the Western Conference Finals in 2014-15 and 2017-18.
Dillingham was taken five picks after Sheppard at No. 8 by San Antonio before his draft rights were traded to Minnesota. He is just the second University of Kentucky player chosen by San Antonio following Keldon Johnson in 2019.
The dynamic guard averaged 15.2 points per game off the bench to become the Southeastern Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year. Dillingham’s points per game off the bench were the most among all players in the SEC and the most by any true freshman off the bench this season.
The Hickory, North Carolina, native had double-figure scoring in 27 games, including eight games with 20 or more. He also averaged 3.9 assists and one steal per game, while racking up All-SEC Second Team and All-SEC Frehman team honors.
The Timberwolves are coming off a 52-26 record, finishing third in the Western Conference. They made it all the way to the Conference Finals round of the NBA playoffs, falling to the eventual runner-up Dallas Mavericks.
Sheppard and Reed are the 48th and 49th NBA draft picks, respectively, under former UK coach John Calipari. They are also the 36th and 37th first-rounders and the 16th and 17th top-10 selections under Calipari. With their selections in the opening round, UK has now had at least one player taken in the first round in each of the last 15 drafts.
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