Austin Reaves, an undrafted rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers, has been a pleasant surprise this season. He played his college ball for the University of Oklahoma, and he turned a two-way spot over the summer into a two-year contract. Now Reaves has earned playing time off the bench and is carving out a role for himself.
Reaves is a good defender that doesn’t mind taking on some of the more challenging assignments. He makes the right reads on offense and can knock down open shots. The rookie was playing more than 20 minutes per night before a hamstring injury sidelined him for a couple of weeks earlier this season. In his first game back, a 116-95 win over Oklahoma City, Reaves scored a then career-high 13 points, while adding five rebounds and two assists.
On Wednesday night in a 107-104 Lakers overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks, Reaves was fantastic. He played 32 minutes and scored a career-high 15 points on 5-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Reaves hit the game-winning three on a pass from Russell Westbrook causing his Lakers teammates to mob him when the game was over.
In college at Wichita State and Oklahoma, Reaves Averaged 10.8 points, shot 48% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc. But in his senior year at Oklahoma, Reaves averaged 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game on 44.5% shooting from the field. Again, he made the All-Big 12 team.
Reaves is averaging 5.3 points per game for the Lakers, but his presence on the court is being felt. The rookie is hitting open shots, making the right plays on offense, and playing defense. Moreover, he knows his role on a team with so many ball handlers, sticking primarily to off the ball duty and playing tough defense. If Reaves keeps this up, his minutes per game will go up; he currently is averaging 18.9 minutes per night. His play has even drawn praise from LeBron James who has already given him a nickname “AR-15”.
The Lakers are next in action against the Timberwolves on Friday night.
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83