While the 2022-23 season may have started in disastrous fashion for the Los Angeles Lakers, there were certainly some positives to come out of it.
Their turnaround to get to the Western Conference Finals was quite impressive, as were the performances of Austin Reaves, who established himself as a key starter for the team. After their loss in Game 4, Reaves was asked if he proved something to himself with how well he has played.
“I never really thought I would be in this position, or I probably believed it, but there’s probably two, maybe three people in the world who thought I’d be in this position and contribute,” Reaves said. “Honestly, I’m just proud of myself. There’s been a lot of times playing basketball where I didn’t think that I would go to the next level, high school didn’t have many offers… Didn’t know I would be overseas or in the NBA, so to be on this stage and perform, it feels good and I’m proud of myself.”
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Reaves wasn’t really held in very high regard coming out of college, and it isn’t a surprise that he had some doubts about whether he’d even make it to the NBA. He went undrafted in 2021 but was signed by the Lakers on a two-way contract in August of that year. By the end of September, he had made such an impact that they gave him a standard NBA contract, and he certainly hasn’t let them down.
Austin Reaves Was One Of The Best Players For The Lakers In The WCF
There had been a lot of chatter that Reaves was just a flash in the pan and is overrated, but he showed in these playoffs that he is a very good player. Against the Denver Nuggets in the Conference Finals, he was one of the best players for L.A., averaging 21.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 5.3 APG while shooting 54.9% from the field. While the likes of D’Angelo Russell struggled, it was Reaves who stepped up and gave some support to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Reaves has made such a positive impression on the franchise that the Lakers are determined to retain him as he enters restricted free agency, as per NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. The team does fear, however, that he will get offers way over $50 million for four years, and they aren’t in a position to pay him crazy money.
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