Getty Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The addition of Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Rivers to Team USA’s FIBA World Cup roster left some questioning the process for selecting players.
Reaves is a former undrafted player who only gained national recognition this past season. But he is one of the 12 players selected to participate, joining fellow guards Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart of the New York Knicks as well as Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers.
And, from the early reports coming out of training camp, Reaves is holding his own.
“When you have good passers, teams connect quickly,” Team USA head coach Steve 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….The whole group is connected and it’s really fun to watch.”
Reaves with a nice hit-ahead pass to Jaren Jackson Jr. in transition.
That is fairly lofty praise for Reaves to be mentioned in the same breath as Haliburton as a passer. Haliburton averaged 10.4 assists this past season for the Pacers en route to his first All-Star selection.
But it should come as no surprise that Reaves’ passing has gotten the attention of Kerr, whose Golden State Warriors teams have been the embodiment of ball movement for nearly a decade.
Lakers Thrived as Austin Reaves Rose to Prominence
The Lakers took off when they let him operate with the ball in his hands more, with Reaves averaging 5.3 assists to go along with 17.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game after the All-Star break.
L.A. went 16-7 in that span and were 8-2 over their final 10 games as Reaves started.
Reaves averaged 16.9 points and 4.6 assists in the postseason, stepping up to average 21.3 points and 5.3 assists in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers sported a plus-5.1 net rating with him on the floor, ranking in the 83rd percentile, and were minus-3.7 (30th percentile) without him, per Cleaning The Glass.
He was rewarded with a four-year, $53.8 million contract this offseason. It is a sizeable payday for a player just entering their third NBA season. His average annual salary won’t be making any NBA history like teammate Anthony Davis’, failing to even crack the top 100, per Spotrac.
That is a relative bargain for the elite traits he’s already put on display.
And it will look like even more of a bargain if he continues on his current trajectory. One that has him on the fast track to his first All-Star appearance according to Lakers head coach, Darvin Ham.
Darvin Ham: ‘Austin Reaves Will be an All-Star’
“I’m putting it on record right now: Austin Reaves will be an All-Star at some point soon,” Ham said on “#thisleague: UNCUT” 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.”
He’s already proven capable of handling greater responsibility and impacting the game even when his shot is not falling.
🟡 Austin Reaves appreciation thread 🟣
In a series where he didn’t shoot super well, Reaves was extremely impactful in 36.4 minutes per game. I want to start by highlighting the passing, including this high-low feed to a sealing LeBron (?!)
16.5 PTS | 5.0 AST | 5.3 REB | 🔥
“The kid is a flat-out competitor,” Ham said. “One of the greatest human beings you can ever be around – always fun, keeps things simple. But yet works at his craft, is fearless in the biggest of moments…I think there’s a lot more levels he’s gonna get to before it’s all said and done.”