- The Lakers guard has exceeded expectations in his first Team USA invitation
- Team USA officials have been highly impressed with the young guard
- Reaves is proving to be better than everyone believed
Lakers guard Austin Reaves isn’t the name most people had in mind as the next young star in Los Angeles, but fans are finding it harder and harder to deny his ascension. Even as one of the youngsters for Team USA, Austin is putting the world on notice and he’s playing well above expectations.
“A player that I had several people say has really impressed them and been, like, much better than they were expecting has been Austin Reaves,” said ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Team USA is still early in their 2023 run, but Austin is already showing some impressive flashes. In the win against Puerto Rico on Monday, Reaves looked extremely comfortable, chipping in nine points on 4-for-9 shooting with four rebounds and four assists.
Austin Reaves is too nice 😮💨🔥 pic.twitter.com/ueB1EPo8tV
— The Laker Files (@LakerFiles) August 18, 2023
It’s easy to understand why Austin’s play is taking so many people off guard. Coming in as an undrafted rookie, nobody thought Reaves was an NBA player, much less a starter for a team that made the Western Conference Finals.
But after showing some flashes in the 2021-22 campaign, head coach Darvin Ham gave Reaves the full green light last season, and he didn’t let it go to waste. Averaging 13 points, 3.4 assists, and 3 rebounds per game on 52% shooting, he emerged as the third star for LA and proved it in the playoffs when he continued to make strides as a consistent force offensively.
Reaves Is The Missing Piece For The Lakers
As LeBron James gets older, the Lakers will have to rely more and more on the others. After signing a massive, $62 million extension, Anthony Davis will have the most burden on his shoulders next season.
But Reaves is right behind Davis in terms of importance to the Lake Show. If he can become the ball handler, shooter, and leader the Lakers need him to be, then they could be set to make history next season.
Until then, Reaves is going to keep showing the world what he can do one game at a time. Already, in just the first two matches, he’s managed to somehow live up to the hype.
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