Kentucky Star Selected in the Top 3 of the 2024 NBA Draft

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The NBA Draft was underway on Wednesday night, as many draft prospects waited to hear their names called by commissioner Adam Silver. One of those was Kentucky's Reed Sheppard, who was selected by the Houston Rockets with the third overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The Wildcat is the highest to ever be drafted in the NBA Draft from the state of Kentucky, according to Corey Price.

Sheppard had an unbelievable season at Kentucky. No one pictured that the kid from Kentucky would end up as a top-3 pick in the NBA Draft. He averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game last season at Kentucky. An extremely efficient shooter, he shot 53.6% overall and 52.1% from three-point range. Sheppard had a ton of honors to go with a special freshman season. He was named the USBWA National Freshman of the Year and NABC Freshman of the Year, among others. He was also named the SEC Freshman of the Year and to the All-SEC Freshman Team and All-SEC Second Team.

The 6-3 guard out of London, KY was great on the defensive end, too. He is just the second player in UK history to have 80 or more steals in a season. He was very close to breaking Rajon Rondo's single-season steals record. He also had 21 games with double-figure scoring, and earned a career-high 32 points against Mississippi State, where he was the hero of that game when he sent it to overtime, despite the loss.

Sheppard is going to make BBN and especially the state of Kentucky proud in Houston. A Kentucky kid being one of the top picks in the NBA Draft and one that has a lot of buzz around him certainly warms the hearts of Kentucky fans.