Austin Reaves has seemingly leaped with the Lakers this season and has become a potential candidate to be a long-term franchise player alongside Luka Doncic. From being a role player in his rookie season, Reaves has now become a significantly crucial key to the Lakers’ championship ambitions this season, as he is the second option on offense after Doncic.
For Lakers fans, Reaves has a special place in their heart. He has declared on several occasions that he plans to retire as a Lakers player, just like his idol Kobe Bryant. And now, numbers show that he seems to be on track to have a Kobe Bryant-like career trajectory with the purple and gold franchise.
At this point in his career, Kobe Bryant was averaging the same points per game as Austin Reaves is doing now. Here’s a more comprehensive breakdown comparing Austin Reaves and Kobe Bryant’s first five seasons in the NBA to where Austin Reaves was before the Lakers faced the Pelicans last night.
Kobe Bryant
1996-97: 7.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 15.5 MPG
1997-98: 15.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 26.0 MPG
1998-99: 19.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 37.9 MPG
1999-00: 22.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 38.2 MPG
2000-01: 28.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.7 BPG, 40.9 MPG
Austin Reaves
2021-22: 7.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 23.2 MPG
2022-23: 13.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 28.8 MPG
2023-24: 15.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 32.1 MPG
2024-25: 20.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 34.9 MPG
2025-26: 28.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 36.3 MPG
Austin Reaves has been nicknamed ‘Hillbilly Kobe’ ever since he was in college, and now that nickname seems to have manifested in his game. The Lakers guard is dropping 30-point games with ease and is looking to be the second option to Luka Doncic, like Kobe Bryant was for Shaquille O’Neal in their prime.
Earlier this summer, Reaves even clarified that Kobe Bryant had a special place in his heart, so much so that he picked Bryant over LeBron James and Michael Jordan as his GOAT. Unfortunately for Reaves, he joined the Lakers just one season after Kobe Bryant passed away in 2020; therefore, he never got to personally meet his hero.
The only distinct difference I see between the two players is that by this stage in his career, Bryant had won a championship with the Lakers and was looking to go back-to-back. Meanwhile, Reaves has only tasted NBA Cup glory by this time in his career, which did not even exist back when Bryant was alive.
Considering that this comparison was based on the stats of the first 15 games of the season, it will be interesting to see if Reaves can be at par with Bryant or even better by the end of the season.
If Austin Reaves wins multiple championships with the Lakers, this comparison could easily become an all-time debate. But as of now, Reaves has to climb a few mountains before he can match what Kobe Bryant’s career signified for the franchise and for the league.
