Austin Reaves hails from Arkansas, where he did not have enough exposure to basketball. He had a challenging journey so far. Nobody expected the kid from Arkansas to take the league by storm. Neither did any team drafted him in 2021. Later, he signed a two-way deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that same year. But AR did impress everybody after only his sophomore season in the NBA. He has a long way to go, as he is only 25 years old.
In the case of the future, the Lakers see Reaves as a future prospect to lead the team in the absence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. They might build the roster in the future centering around Reaves. Last year, he helped his team reach the Western Conference Finals. For his contributions last season, the Lakers extended his contract to another four years with a value of $56 million. However, some doubters feel AR’s success last season was a fluke.
Was AR’s Success Last Year Nothing But A Fluke?
These naysayers believe Austin Reaves only played well last season because of the contract year. According to Bleacher Report’s Adam Fromal, Austin Reaves will have to justify the maximum contract extension and deal with the claims of flukiness. In the last postseason, Austin Reaves had an average of 16.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds. There are also talks about Austin Reaves getting his first All-Star selection next season. If he can maintain a triple double next season, the Arkansas native might become an All-Star player for the first time. Moreover, Austin Reaves proved last postseason that his best comes out when the situation demands the most.
On top of that, resigning Reaves was one of the best things the LA side could have done this offseason. Many experts like Skip Bayless believe the Lakers have a clear shot of winning the championship as they retained AR. According to the Lakers coach, the team has a better chance to win when Austin Reaves plays as the point guard. As per Darvin Ham, the Lakers might ask AR to take more responsibility in the offense. Moreover, Reaves looks ready to take on the new challenge and make changes to his overall game for the team.
Austin Reaves Has What It Takes To Help His Team Win Titles
But at present, the Lakers are prepping to redeem themselves in the next season. The Lakers Faithful have immense faith in the Oklahoma Sooners kid. Can he repeat the same brilliance next season? Only in his second season, Reaves became the most valuable player of the team behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Arkansas native showed consistency and accuracy last season. However, what impressed his teammates most about him was his incredibly high basketball IQ. Rob Pelinka sees a lot of Kobe Bryant in AR. The Lakers GM added that Austin Reaves has that same Mamba gene in terms of work ethic and is always there for his team. Reaves would like to stay with the Lakers forever and help his team win many titles.
