The Los Angeles Lakers have a genuine Big Three on their roster. Everyone knows the danger their star duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic poses as two of the greatest offensive minds in the history of the game. However, there's a third star that's been keeping up with them, if not occasionally outperforming them - Austin Reaves.
Reaves is having a breakout season with the Lakers this year, finally evolving into becoming a 20-point scorer. As a result, NBA Podfather Bill Simmons gushed with praise for Reaves' development this season on his podcast with Ryen Russilo.
"I can't believe how good he is offensively. To a point where he's on a team with LeBron and Luka, and his coach thinks it's a good idea to run stuff through Austin Reaves. But even LeBron and Luka are like, 'We should run stuff through Austin Reaves.' That's the level he's at. I think he's a potential 25-point-a-game scorer at some point in his career."
"There's pieces of different guys from over the years, and I'll do a comparing white guy to a white guy thing. There's a lot of Jeff Hornacek, there's some Paul Westphal. But with his ability to get to the basket, create shots for other guys, and hit threes in huge moments, I think other teams are really afraid of him offensively. I've been really impressed, I wasn't expecting it."
Reaves is averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, with career highs across the board this season. JJ Redick immediately prioritized Reaves within his offensive system, using his talents to reduce the on-ball load on LeBron to facilitate better defensive output from the 40-year-old forward.
The acquisition of Luka Doncic was widely expected to hurt Reaves' overall production due to Doncic presumably usurping Reaves in the team's pecking order. Even though the Lakers have let Luka play with a greater usage rate than he had on the Dallas Mavericks this season, Reaves has stayed prolific, averaging 21.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 39.8% from three in 23 games alongside Doncic.
Luka has always elevated guards who play alongside him, so the fact that Reaves is also benefitting isn't surprising.
This leap might have been in him for a while, but former Lakers coach Darvin Ham never gave Reaves the same opportunity. He spent a portion of last season as the team's sixth man and had a smaller usage rate than D'Angelo Russell.
Redick prioritized Reaves over Russell, and it became instantly apparent which one of the guards was better suited to be the primary on-ball option. Reaves proved his worth in the two months without Russell or Doncic but will now potentially be a long-term Laker, thriving alongside Doncic while under an affordable
