Austin Reaves is an NBA rags-to-riches story in a league that doesn’t have as many such stories as other sports leagues, especially the NFL, do. He went undrafted in 2021 out of the University of Oklahoma, but after he did well in summer league play for the Los Angeles Lakers, they signed him to a two-way contract, which was converted into a standard contract less than two months later.
He has raised his game each season, and this season was no exception. He arguably played at an All-Star level this season and had people saying that the Lakers now had a legitimate “Big Three” consisting of him, LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
Austin Reaves’ season stats
In 73 regular-season games, Reaves averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds a game while shooting 46% from the field, 37.7% from 3-point range and 87.7% from the free throw line.
In the first round of the NBA playoffs, he averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game while shooting 41.1% from the field, 31.9% from 3-point range and 85.7% from the free throw line.
Overall analysis
Reaves’ shooting efficiency went up and down during the first half of the season. He shot just 41.4% overall and 33% from 3-point range in November, but in December, he averaged 22.1 points a game while making 46.8% of his shot attempts and 37.7% from downtown.
A large number of his shot attempts, especially his 3-point attempts, prior to Doncic’s arrival seemed to come off the dribble. That meant he had to work hard for his shots, especially since he has trouble getting past his initial defender off the dribble without a strong ball screen.
But the trade for Doncic seemed to open things up for the Arkansas native. The Slovenian became L.A.’s main facilitator and ball-handler and sucked up lots of defensive attention like an industrial-strength vacuum, which created easier opportunities for Reaves. It also meant Reaves was sometimes being guarded by a weaker defender than he was earlier in the year.
In Reaves’ last 25 games of the regular season, he registered 22.8 points a game on 48.7% overall shooting and 41.1% from 3-point land. Those figures went up to 24.9 points a game, 52.4% overall shooting and 42.4% 3-point shooting in his last 17 contests.
At times, when L.A. was without one or both of its superstars, he stepped up his game and played at a superstar level. On Feb. 8, with James out of action and Doncic yet to make his team debut, Reaves exploded for a career-high 45 points against the Indiana Pacers, a team that is currently two wins away from an NBA championship. He also went for 37 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and four steals on March 14 versus the Denver Nuggets when both James and Doncic didn’t play.
Unfortunately, Reaves played poorly in the first round of the playoffs versus the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it seemed to renew the emphasis on his shortcomings.
He is relatively unathletic, which manifests itself on both ends of the floor, but especially on the defensive end. He struggles defensively against certain matchups, particularly bigger and stronger wings, and over the last couple of seasons, opposing teams have looked to exploit this deficiency.
Still, one has to conclude that Reaves had another successful season where he built upon what he had done during the previous season.
What’s next for Reaves?
In the past, the Lakers had considered Reaves virtually untouchable in any trade discussions. But now, a considerable number of fans want the team to trade him and feel it will have to do so in order to become a true championship contender.
Such fans point to the lack of defense and athleticism that a starting backcourt of Doncic and Reaves has, as well as the fact that Reaves has a player option for the 2026-27 season and could soon become very expensive to keep. The guard made a whisker under $13 million this season and will be paid $13.9 million next season.
Perhaps Reaves could still be a major part of a Lakers team that wins it all, but he may have to do so as a sixth man due to his weaknesses. On the other hand, perhaps landing a two-way wing such as Andrew Wiggins would allow Reaves to help L.A. win the NBA championship as a starter.
