Arguably the most significant contributor to the Los Angeles Lakers winning 50 games was Austin Reaves, who took a massive leap as a secondary ball handler and scorer.
Particularly in the second half of the season, Reaves played at an All-Star level, averaging over 23 points per game. In addition to having signature performances, putting up 30 or more points seven times even with Luka Doncic and LeBron James being on the floor for some of those, Reaves has also shown he can fit playing off the ball with the two stars.
One could accredit this jump in production to playing with a great in James, who is known to make his teammates better and empower them. Despite not being a fan of the four-time champion prior to his time in the NBA, Reaves spoke to how their relationship has grown since arriving in L.A.
“As all of y’all have probably seen from my rookie year when a tweet got posted from when I was 12 talking about, I basically was just talking shit on LeBron,” Reaves said. “Wasn’t a huge LeBron fan, I was a Kobe fan. So automatically I didn’t love him. But obviously I always respected his game and then just being around him every single day, the joy that he brings to the team. Like I’ve said, he isn’t ever in a bad mood. He’s always joking, laughing, having a good time. For him to welcome me from when I was on a two-way the same way as he does today, it just meant a lot to me. Obviously being able to play alongside him just helped me grow every single day. So I owe him a lot for what he’s helped me accomplish. Yeah, he’s a pretty good guy.”
The stakes do not get higher than playing with an all-time great who is up there with Michael Jordan. Being in that environment is not for everyone, but it is for Reaves as he elevated himself to a vital piece for the Lakers this season.
When signing the Arkansas native after the 2021 NBA Draft, no one could have foreseen this kind of production from an undrafted guard. Luckily, the Lakers did their homework and hopefully, Reaves can carry this production into the postseason.
Austin Reaves believes Lakers can win championship
Luka Doncic arriving to L.A. is a move that was not forecasted and the Lakers find themselves back in championship contention because of it. Although there were bumps in the road, the team is playing their best basketball going into the playoffs.
With that being said, Austin Reaves thinks they can win a championship this year and one could infer he is not the only player that feels that way.
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