- Darvin Ham had huge praise for Austin Reaves
- Ham believes Reaves can have a similar career trajectory to Ben Wallace
- The shooting guard is in line for a breakout season
The Los Angeles Lakers have a number of solid young role players on the roster right now, with the most prominent name being Austin Reaves. Reaves has definitely raised his stock over the course of last season, and the Lakers signed him to a four-year, $56 million contract this summer.
Many believe that Austin Reaves can continue producing like he has, and have high hopes for him. Darvin Ham recently compared the Reaves’ career trajectory to Detroit Pistons legend Ben Wallace, noting that Wallace went from an undrafted player to a Hall-of-Fame defensive legend.
“The last player that I can think of that had that kind of ‘come-up’ was my brother Ben Wallace,” Darvin Ham said per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “Going from being undrafted to being a Hall-of-Famer, and I think Austin, with the type of person he is, the work he puts in, the way he cares about his teammates, the way he stays in the moment, I see his trajectory being very similar.”
Though it is unclear if Austin Reaves will actually become a legend like Ben Wallace, he is an undrafted player who has a good chance of staying in the league for a long time. Reaves has a skill set perfect for the modern game, and he can fit in on any squad.
During the 2023 playoffs, Austin Reaves averaged 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He clearly had a good run, but the obvious question is whether Reaves can keep up this sort of play for an entire season.
Rob Pelinka Believes Austin Reaves Has The Mamba Gene
Austin Reaves has had to fight to make the league, and it is clear that what matters most to him is his team winning. In fact, Rob Pelinka claimed that Austin Reaves has the “Mamba Gene”, stating that he’s only focused on helping the team win a championship.
“He uniquely has that ‘Mamba Gene’, where it is all about the work, it’s about playing competitively on every play, it’s about being a great teammate, not caring about personal accolades but the team winning… He’s got tremendous respect from other coaches and players around the league… He’s focused on one thing only and that’s to bring another championship to this organization, we’ll lean into that type of character.”
Hopefully, we do see Austin Reaves play well next season. The Los Angeles Lakers will give him every opportunity to succeed, and we’ll see what ends up happening with him in the future.
Can Austin Reaves Make Another Leap For The Lakers?
There is no doubt that many expect Austin Reaves to consistently be the third star for the Los Angeles Lakers, particularly on the offensive end. He has shown that he can do that in the playoffs, but doing it for 82 games is another story.
Defense is another area where Austin Reaves can improve. Though he has solid size for a guard, we often see teams target him on that end of the floor, and a defensive improvement would do wonders for his development.
Overall though, Austin Reaves has a lot of ballhandling and shooting ability, and that suggests he can be a consistent scorer while not being guarded like a primary option. It will be interesting to see what role Darvin Ham puts him in next season.
Austin Reaves’ development can definitely make or break the Los Angeles Lakers’ season in terms of being a true championship team. His ascension can greatly increase their chances, and we’ll see what happens in the future.
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