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It might be difficult for Los Angeles Lakers rising star Austin Reaves to top what he did last season but it sure sounds as though he is determined to at least try.
“Really just being more of a playmaker,” Reaves said on the “Full Send Podcast” on August 10. “I feel like I can play the 1 at a high level, and just really proving that because that’s really the position I’ve played basically in my whole career until like kind of college in my last couple years. But that’s really it, and then just sharpening everything else just trying to get better overall.”
Reaves built off of the flashes he showed as a rookie, averaging 13.0 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 52.9% from the floor overall and 38.9% from beyond the arc this past season.
He stepped it up in the postseason, averaging 16.9 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.4 rebounds.
The Lakers rewarded him with a four-year, $53.8 million contract which would rank fifth on the all-time earnings list by an undrafted player, per Spotrac.
He averaged 5.5 assists to go with 15.8 points from February 28 through the end of the regular season. But there could be a hiccup in Reaves’ plan.
“I’m putting it on record right now: Austin Reaves will be an All-Star at some point soon,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said on the “#thisleague: UNCUT” podcast on July 13. “I think…him being invited to be a part of the World Cup team is the first step in that direction…My plan is to continue to feature him. He’s our starting 2-guard.”
That is a notable mix of Ham holding Reaves in high regard and something other than what the player says he is looking to accomplish next season. Ham deployed Reaves more as a ball handler than a point guard.
He saw 553 possessions there total across the regular season and playoffs, per Cleaning the Glass.
Austin Reaves Gets Point Guard Reps for Team USA
It is unlikely he sees a lot more time there with the roster as currently constructed with the Lakers adding Gabe Vincent in free agency while retaining D’Angelo Russell.
And any team with LeBron James will see him have the ball in his hands a lot. Still, good things happened when he was on the ball, and Team USA head coach Steve Kerr – whose Golden State Warriors lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Semi-Finals – is getting him some of those reps in practice ahead of the FIBA World Cup.
“When you have good passers, teams connect quickly,” Kerr said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic on August 5. “And some of these guys have it come so naturally to them, Tyrese (Haliburton), Austin Reaves – these guys are great passers.”
Austin Reaves Focused on Winning
There could be potential conflict could over Reaves’ desire to prove his worth as a point guard, and Ham’s comments combined with the Lakers’ free agency moves. But Reaves has much grander plans on his mind.
“I just want to win, I want to win a championship,” Reaves said.
“I looked at Bron, it was, I think Game 4 of the Memphis series. And…It was just like, ‘This might be the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball.’ Just the level that we were playing that, you’re playing against the best players in the world. And just the playoff feeling, and…ultimately, to win a championship is really my only goal.”
The Lakers surprised even Reaves making it to the Western Conference Finals after starting the regular season 2-10.
It is nearly impossible for expectations to get any higher. But, again as with any team James is on, winning a championship is the ultimate goal every season, and Reaves seems to fully understand that and be bought in.
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