It’s one thing to occasionally see him play, but now that JJ Redick is around Austin Reaves daily, he is truly impressed with how good he is.
Austin Reaves being good at basketball is an easy assessment to make. How good he is and what that ceiling is where disagreements can happen among Lakers fans and basketball aficionados.
Last year was up and down for Reaves. His slow start led to his benching and a struggle to get back to his original role as a starter.
This season, JJ Redick named Reaves part of the starting five before the year began and he hit the ground running. The Lakers have opened the season with a trio of wins and Reaves has been stellar, averaging 18 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
It's a small sample size, of course, but these numbers would result in a career year for Reaves and solidly him as the best guard on the team.
Reaves’ best game so far came during a 123-116 victory against the Phoenix Suns. He shot an efficient 8-12 from the field and hit five 3-pointers. His offensive explosion in the second half helped jumpstart the comeback win. After the game, Redick shared how impressed he was with the performance.
JJ Redick on Austin Reaves, who scored 26 points on 12 FGA’s plus 8 assists and 3 steals: “I knew (Austin) was a great player when I took this job … but I didn’t realize he was this good … he’s a fantastic basketball player.”
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 26, 2024
Lakers fans insisting their players are fantastic and having people scoff at this notion is a story as old as time.
Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma and Ivica Zubac are just a few names that come to mind as players who fans hyped up and have not only lived up to those expectations, but exceeded them years later.
I’m certain fans of other fanbases also hype up their players, but the Lakers have shown an uncanny ability to hit on their late draft picks and undrafted players since 2016.
So when fans have watched a young prospect excel and are loud about it, they’re usually right.
Now that Redick isn’t doing media and is hyper-focused on the Lakers as the head coach, he can witness first hand the value and impact Reaves brings.
He’s upgraded from Lakers causal to purple and gold sicko and when you do that quickly you realize, Reaves is the best guard on the team and is still nowhere near his prime.
With a coach who sees his value, his play improving and the Lakers rolling, it’s exciting to think of where Reaves will be even a few months from now let alone in a year or two.
Reaves just needs to keep playing as he has and everything should fall in place for him to have his best season yet.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
