The story for the Los Angeles Lakers early on this season has undoubtedly been the play of Austin Reaves. With both Luka Doncic and LeBron James dealing with injuries, Reaves has stepped up as the number one option for head coach JJ Redick and has kept the team afloat without their two superstars.
The latest outstanding performance for Reaves came against the Minnesota Timberwolves where he finished with 28 points and 16 assists while knocking down a floater at the buzzer to give the Lakers a 116-115 victory. It was more proof that Reaves is playing at another level this season and his head coach was not surprised that he came through when the Lakers needed him most.
Redick spoke after the game about Reaves, noting that the guard has had many clutch moments throughout his career already and is very comfortable with him making decisions for the Lakers down the stretch of games, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“That guy is gonna show up in the big moments. Not surprised. He’s done that many times in his career. He’s done that many times since I’ve been his coach. I feel very comfortable with him making decisions at late game.”
Redick is right in that there is plenty of evidence of Reaves being a truly clutch player for the Lakers. On Christmas Day last year it was Reaves with the ball in his hands, driving to the basket for the game-winning layup with one second left against the Golden State Warriors. There was also the game-winning 3-pointer in overtime as a rookie against the Dallas Mavericks or the famous “I’m Him!” clutch shots in his first career playoff game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
No matter the situation, Reaves has been someone who has come through far more often than not since he joined the NBA and he has improved his game each season. The Lakers have needed him to step up this year and he has done just that over and over again as he continues to prove he is truly one of the best players in the league today.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves set for a massive contract this offseason
This past offseason Austin Reaves unsurprisingly declined a contract extension from the Lakers as the team was limited in what they could offer him and he could make far more from the Lakers or any other team by opting-out and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer.
And rumblings on the kind of contract he could command when the offseason comes are heating up with $30 million a year reportedly being the baseline.
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