Austin Reaves has had a breakout sophomore season, establishing himself as one of the starters on a solid Los Angeles Lakers team that has hopes to make a deep playoff run.
Reaves is proud to be on the Lakers, despite all the drama he has seen since joining the team in 2021-22. He told Shams Charania that he wants to be a Laker for the rest of his career.
“I wanna be a Laker. Obviously, they gave me my first opportunity. I was a huge Laker fan growing up, a big Kobe fan, so honestly, just to be able to play for the Lakers organization is special, and I wanna be a Laker, so hopefully, we can get this done, and I can stay there for hopefully my whole career.”
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves sits down with @Stadium: “I want to be a Laker, so hopefully we can get this done and I can stay there for hopefully my whole career.” On upcoming free agency, a special 2021 training camp moment, surprising his opponents, much more: pic.twitter.com/sa83nlnatT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 10, 2023
Over the last 12 games, Reaves has averaged 19.5 points and 5.8 assists on 58.3% from the field and 45.2% from three. He has been crucial in ensuring the Lakers made the play-in tournament and will now play a big part in their playoff run.
Reaves is a free agent this summer and has already said he will prioritize getting paid over anything, so it’ll be interesting to see if Reaves stays or is forced to walk like Alex Caruso was.
Is Austin Reaves The Lakers’ X-Factor?
The postseason success that the Lakers will enjoy is predicated on the performances of LeBron James and Anthony Davis primarily. But the Lakers will need the others on the roster to show up. Teams are preparing for the two big stars and possibly the dynamic scoring of D’Angelo Russell. Reaves won’t be a priority on opposing game plans, which is why he needs to make a big impact.
As the fourth scoring option in the starting lineup, Reaves will continue using his IQ to attack mismatches and run the pace of the game without LeBron. He’s been sensational along with LeBron on the court since last season, so it’ll be exciting to see if Reaves can improve in the playoffs or if he will regress in the slower and more defensive style of the postseason. We’ll find out soon enough.
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