These 3 young Lakers have Austin Reaves-like potential

Sunday provided us with an absolute masterclass. In a game against the Orlando Magic, second-year guard Austin Reaves put the Lakers organization on his back and rallied the team to a win to the tune of a career-high 35 points while shooting an efficient 9/14 from the field and 16/18 from the line.

A flurry of and-ones with a sprinkle of flash coming in the form of a behind-the-back pass leading to a Dennis Schroder 3 had the Cyrpto.com Arena in mass hysteria. MVP chants may just be the new normal when #15 steps up to the stripe.

He followed that performance up with another massive performance against the Phoenix Suns where he tallied 25 points, a career-high 11 assists, and a team-high +18 in the start. Although the leap from year one to year two has been fantastic in terms of shooting splits and overall efficiency, those who watch the games shouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

The high IQ, efficient shooting, and playmaking were there, just in a smaller sample size. After all, the young man put up 31 points 16 rebounds and 10 assists in the season finale overtime win against Denver last season.

With this game came the media frenzy. All the way from people talking about him commanding a $50m contract to the NBA releasing an hour-long career highlight tape (which I’m unashamed to admit I watched more than once).

With the never-failing powers of the Buss brothers scouting young talent for the team, who might just be the next Austin Reaves waiting to make their mark on the greatest organization in sports?

3 young Lakers that could be the next Austin Reaves:

Max Christie

The 6’5″ 20-year-old guard out of Michigan State is not quite producing at a high level by any means yet due to his lack of stability in year one but has shown vast improvement in many areas. As one of the better,r if not the best player out of the first-year Lakers, he has been asked to do quite a bit.

Playing legitimate minutes in 23 NBA games and 12 G-League games certainly makes it difficult to find your groove with a specific group of players or coaching staff, yet he’s shown a similar trait with Austin Reaves as have the other two players on this list. He knows his role and doesn’t make many mistakes.

Shooting 41% from 3 and 87% from the line in his NBA action paired with the effective perimeter defense, he was able to show off how he could fit in the future as a solid 3-and-D type player moving forward. His growth physically has been astounding seeing him add roughly 10 pounds of muscle just from the time he was drafted.

https://twitter.com/NazemiRC/status/1638690900099604481

His IQ on whether or not to take the shot or make the extra pass is still in the works, but at the end of the day he’s a rookie, and who better to learn that skill from than teammate LeBron James?

Scotty Pippen Jr. 

Most probably know the first-year point guard through his father, the 6x NBA Champion and multiple-time all-star and first-team All-NBA forward, Scottie Pippen. If that was all you knew him from, you’re in for a treat. The rookie guard from Vanderbilt came to the Lakers through the way of undrafted free agency and played well from the jump in summer league.

Since his debut with the team, he has been relegated to the G-League basically full-time, but what we’ve seen from him at that level has been nothing short of tremendous. In 19 games with the South Bay Lakers, Pippen has averaged 22.2 PPG and 5.3 APG to go along with 1.6 SPG.

Pippen Jr is only 6’1 which may or may not have a larger impact on the bigger stage of the NBA, but given the athleticism shown from the young guard, there should not be any issues.

Cole Swider

Cole Swider quickly became a Lakers fan favorite with his flamethrower of a three-point shot. It doesn’t matter what kind either. Catch and shoot, coming off a screen, off balance.

The 23-year-old out of Syracuse has torched G-League defenses, scoring 16.7 PPG shooting a ridiculous 50.5% from the field and 43.8% from three. He’s not just shooting with those types of splits on 2-4 shots a game either, this is on almost 12 shots a game, 7 of those coming from beyond the arc.

If there was one concern to be had it would be in his athleticism and defense. Although we’ve seen him as recently as a week or two ago tally 3 steals in a single game, he still rides below a steal or block per game. Whether this will be necessary for Swider to grow in order for him to see the court is still left to be seen, but as for right now at the level he is at, the shooting is more than enough.

Are any of these guys ready enough at this very moment to come in and give Austin Reaves-like production? No, there’s only one AR-15 and he’s currently having his way with your favorite teams as we speak. Similarly though, do not be surprised when Twitter and the rest of the NBA media come to know these three names very well.