Austin Reaves played his first career playoff game on Sunday and showed out. Reaves did his best Kobe Bryant impression and put the game on ice for the Los Angeles Lakers to give the team a 1-0 series lead over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Reaves’ rise into being a prominent role player on the Lakers has been incredible to watch. The former Oklahoma Sooner was an undrafted free agent that instantly connected with the fanbase in 2021. Ever since then, he has continued to improve and has proven that he is a legitimate NBA player.
In two short seasons, Reaves has already made it clear that he is one of the best-undrafted players in the NBA right now. But where does he stand among his peers?
Ranking Lakers’ Austin Reaves and the 5 best undrafted players in the NBA:
5. Naz Reid, Minnesota Timberwolves
Naz Reid did not play for the Timberwolves in the team’s play-in game against the Lakers as he is out with a wrist injury. Reid won’t be returning to the Timberwolves during the playoffs, especially with the team likely being bounced in round one against the Denver Nuggets.
This is a huge loss for the Timberwolves as Reid became a very important member of the bench unit for Minnesota. In fact, the team was playing its best basketball while Karl-Anthony Towns was still hurt and Reid was getting more minutes.
The 23-year-old was averaging 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in only 18.4 minutes per game. His per-36 averages of 22.5 points and 9.6 rebounds showcase just how productive he is for Minnesota.
Some may disagree with Reid ranking on this list but he obviously has something special to his game that is only going to continue to grow. If he did not have Rudy Gobert and Towns in front of him, he would be producing at a much higher clip.