Austin Reaves has been absolutely stellar for the Los Angeles Lakers over the last four games. With LeBron James out — and Luka Doncic missing one game — they have desperately needed Reaves to step up. And he has delivered by averaging 30.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game on 52.9% from the field and 42.5% from beyond the arc over his last four.
It’s not the first time this season that Reaves has looked like a legitimate All-Star caliber player, but it is one of the first times that Doncic is seeing it consistently since he joined the team. Reaves was dealing with injury and trying to re-establish his role after being the primary point guard in the month between the Dorian Finney-Smith trade and the Luka trade.
Now, Reaves looks to be fully back to himself. And Doncic is in awe of what he’s seeing from the 26-year-old.
“I mean, this guy just scored 30 in his four games in five days, and that explains everything,” Doncic said. “He’s an amazing player. For him to go undrafted is unbelievable. It’s not easy to go undrafted and then play at this level. It’s amazing just to be by his side.”
While the Lakers getting Reaves as an undrafted free agent was a choice of his — as opposed to being taken by the Detroit Pistons in the late second round of the 2021 NBA Draft — it’s still unbelievable that that was even an option.
Reaves has been a high-impact player almost from Day 1. For a while, many believed that Reaves was only looking as good as he was because the Lakers put together an ill-fitting roster in 2021-22 and he was one of the only bright spots. But as the years have gone on, Reaves has continued his upward trajectory.
He is now legitimately one of the best third options in the sport and would be a starter on virtually every team in the NBA. And next to Doncic and James, he is going to get all types of opportunities for open jumpers and one-on-one moments against team’s third-best defenders. And Reaves, as he always has, is going to take advantage of the opportunity.
Austin Reaves enjoying playing next to Luka Doncic
Much of the focus when the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic was how he and LeBron James would fit. However, arguably just as important was the chemistry that would need to be developed between Doncic and Reaves.
Reaves was just coming into his own as the primary creator for the Lakers before the trade and he would have to make a big adjustment. Some wondered whether Reaves’ numbers would fall off, but on the contrary he has continued to play exceptionally for this team, especially as LeBron remains out with his groin strain.
That was certainly the case on Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs as Reaves led the Lakers with 30 points along with seven rebounds and six assists in the 16-point win. Even though Doncic struggled shooting on the night, the attention he commands still makes things easier on the rest of the team and Reaves spoke to that following the win.
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