The Los Angeles Lakers aren't in the midst of the 2024-25 season they anticipated having at the start of the year. While there were many questions around the team with rookie head coach JJ Redick, nobody could've foreseen a trade for Luka Doncic. Another thing many wouldn't have expected is for Austin Reaves to break out as a genuine star in the NBA.
Despite Reaves being a highly-rated Lakers guard for a few seasons, he hadn't been a consistent 20-point scorer at any point. However, he's continued getting better and is showing he can lead the team as their No. 1 option.
Reaves is averaging 28.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists in seven games this season with LeBron on the court.
The Lakers have a 3-4 record in those games, showing that Reaves still needs support around him. However, the fact that Reaves has gone from a player best used when sharing the floor with LeBron to being a near 30-point scorer without him on the court is a marvelous development.
Most won't want to give him this credit because he's a Laker and receives plenty of attention already, but Reaves' story is one of the best examples of player development in the NBA.
After strategically ensuring he went undrafted so he could join the Lakers, that decision has paid off as he's developed into a bonafide starter on a contending franchise, if not a future All-Star.
Reaves is averaging 19.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists this season, easily the best year of his career so far. While many expected his fit next to Luka Doncic to be awkward, the pair have been killing it as a backcourt duo so far in their partnership.
Austin Reaves Love Having A Star Like Luka Doncic Next To Him
Everyone knows about how much respect Austin Reaves has for LeBron James. However, even Reaves understands that the addition of Luka Doncic is what has given the Lakers a genuine shot at title contention. He reflected on the addition of Luka this season, calling him a killer and expressing his excitement at playing alongside him.
“The one thing that everyone knows about Luka is that he’s a killer. At the end of the day, he wants to go win. I've been able to watch him for a long time in this league. That was one thing, but I was really excited about teaming up with him because, at all costs, he wants to go out there and win."
"When you put a guy like that on your team, and everybody knows how skilled he is, he makes the game easier for everybody else. It's very good to have on your team. I feel like he has fit in perfectly. Very happy to have him and can't wait to grow... put it all together and see what that looks like.”
Reaves recently spoke on their developing on-court chemistry after they combined for 71 points in their win over the Phoenix Suns last night.
"On-court chemistry is a real thing. Anytime that you can log more minutes together, you're gonna figure out how to play with one another... When you play with him, you're going to get good looks. He draws so much attention. Shoutout to him; he played a hell of a game tonight."
Reaves is averaging 17.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists alongside Doncic, so it seems this backcourt might have a bright future in coming years as LeBron starts to reduce his workload and then retire.
