"We text every now and then": Reed Sheppard on his relationship with Austin Reaves amid comparisons with Lakers star

The Kentucky Wildcats guard Reed Sheppard was recently interviewed by The Athletic's Shams Charania. In the interview, Sheppard talked about many things, including his relationship with LA Lakers guard Austin Reaves.

Charania talked about the time when Reaves was compared to Gordon Hayward and now there are comparisons made between Sheppard and Reaves.

"Yeah, it's really cool, you know. It's really cool being compared to an NBA player because that's what you want to be eventually as an NBA player," said Reed Sheppard. "And it's funny they say Austin because Austin actually has reached out to me multiple times, he reached out to me during the season."

Sheppard also said he is in touch with Austin Reaves.

"It was pretty cool. He's a really good dude. I've got to know them a little bit. We text every now and then. And that is pretty cool for me just because I know how good of a player he is. And watching him play is really cool knowing that people also kind of compare me to him," he added.

Sheppard averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 53.6% from the field (including 52.1% from beyond the arc) in the 2023-24 season for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Reed Sheppard on his background

In the same interview, Sheppard said he played a lot of sports before deciding to pursue basketball professionally.

"I played all the sports growing up. I played soccer, I played baseball, basketball, football. And it was until sixth grade really when AAU started, I stopped. I stopped playing all the other sports and just started playing basketball," Sheppard said.

"And at that moment I started picking it up a little bit and going to working out more and getting to the flow of going to working out and going to shooting and really knowing basketball is what I wanted to do", he added.

Reed Sheppard has not instilled himself as the first pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Various teams could use his services. Comparisons are already being made with players like Austin Reaves and Donte DiVincenzo.

Do you think the comparison with Austin Reaves is justified?