Reed Sheppard is now an NBA draft first-round pick. He joins these other Kentucky natives.

Reed Sheppard is now among another elite group of basketball players who were born in the commonwealth.

On Wednesday night, Sheppard’s professional basketball dreams came true when he was selected by the Houston Rockets as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, following a superstar one-and-done season at UK.

Sheppard was also the first collegiate player selected in the 2024 NBA draft.

“Kentucky is home,” Sheppard told UK fans in a social media video during which he announced his decision to leave college after just one season. “Kentucky will always be home. However, there is another part of my dream. To play basketball in the NBA.”

As the North Laurel High School graduate heads to Houston to begin his NBA career, he has added his name to a prominent list of Kentucky natives who have gone on to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft.

According to Basketball Reference, this is the complete list of NBA draft first-round picks who attended high school in Kentucky (in addition to Sheppard):

Players are listed in chronological order of their NBA draft year.

This list does not include players selected in Basketball Association of America drafts, such as Ralph Beard and Wah Wah Jones.

▪ Frank Ramsey (Madisonville, No. 6 overall selection by the Boston Celtics in 1953).

▪ Frank Selvy (Corbin, No. 1 overall selection by the Baltimore Bullets in 1954).

▪ Charlie Tyra (Atherton, No. 2 overall selection by the Detroit Pistons in 1957).

▪ Tom Thacker (William Grant, No. 5 overall selection by the Cincinnati Royals in 1963).

Thacker was a territorial selection by the Royals.

▪ Jeff Mullins (Lafayette, No. 6 overall selection by the St. Louis Hawks in 1964).

▪ Clem Haskins (Taylor County, No. 3 overall selection by the Chicago Bulls in 1967).

▪ Wes Unseld (Seneca, No. 2 overall selection by the Baltimore Bullets in 1968).

▪ Tom Boerwinkle (Millersburg Military Institute, No. 4 overall selection by the Chicago Bulls in 1968).

▪ Butch Beard (Breckenridge County, No. 10 overall selection by the Atlanta Hawks in 1969).

▪ Dave Cowens (Newport Central Catholic, No. 4 overall selection by the Boston Celtics in 1970).

▪ Wesley Cox (Male, No. 18 overall selection by the Golden State Warriors in 1977).

▪ Jack Givens (Bryan Station, No. 16 overall selection by the Atlanta Hawks in 1978).

▪ Darrell Griffith (Male, No. 2 overall selection by the Utah Jazz in 1980).

▪ Jeff Lamp (Ballard, No. 15 overall selection by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1981).

▪ Melvin Turpin (Bryan Station, No. 6 overall selection by the Washington Bullets in 1984).

▪ Rex Chapman (Apollo, No. 8 overall selection by the Charlotte Hornets in 1988).

▪ Felton Spencer (Eastern, No. 6 overall selection by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1990).

▪ Allan Houston (Ballard, No. 11 overall selection by the Detroit Pistons in 1993).

▪ Derek Anderson (Doss, No. 13 overall selection by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1997).

▪ Scott Padgett (Saint Xavier, No. 28 overall selection by the Utah Jazz in 1999).

▪ Rajon Rondo (Eastern, No. 21 overall selection by the Phoenix Suns in 2006).

▪ D’Angelo Russell (Central, No. 2 overall selection by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015).

This story was originally published June 26, 2024 at 8:37 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription