The 2024 No. 3 overall pick was overlooked as a rookie. The Rockets prioritized winning over developmental minutes and made a surprise leap to the top of the Western Conference playoff picture. However, Houston lost to Golden State in the first round as a No. 2 seed, prompting dramatic changes this offseason. The Rockets shipped Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to Phoenix in a package deal to land Kevin Durant. They also sent Cam Whitmore to Washington for draft capital, signed Fred VanVleet to a multi-year extension and added Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela in free agency. However, VanVleet tore his ACL in late September and will likely miss the entire 2025-26 campaign. With four rotation players, including three starters and the team's 2024-25 leading scorer, out of the picture, Sheppard should have a clearer path to consistent minutes in Year 2. The most significant addition to replace the trio of departures was Durant, who has missed fewer than 20 regular-season games only once in the past five seasons. Sheppard is an obvious option for more playing time and usage, but he'll have to earn everything. Veteran Aaron Holiday will be Sheppard's primary competition for backcourt minutes, though rising star Amen Thompson will also have a lot of ball-handling duties. The only thing left for Sheppard to do is prove himself at the highest level. He starred in the G League last season, averaging 30.7 points, 7.3 assists and 2.7 steals while shooting 40.5 percent from deep across three appearances. He dominated lesser competition again at Summer League, totaling 46 points and eight steals in two contests before being shut down. Sheppard played at least 20 minutes in only five NBA games as a rookie, but he posted promising results, averaging 16.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 steals. Given his upside and projected rise in minutes in the aftermath of VanVleet's injury, Sheppard will probably go higher than his ADP in most drafts, and there's no reason he should fall past pick 150. He'll likely need to have a strong showing in training camp for the Rockets to trust him with a starting role to begin the campaign, as they are in win-now mode.