Former NBA bust drops ironically-bad Austin Reaves take ahead of Lakers-Nuggets

The Los Angeles Lakers kickstart the season on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are receiving their championship rings on the same night that they host the team they beat in the Western Conference Finals last season. Meanwhile, that team is going to be heading into this game looking for vengeance.

Los Angeles is one of the premier title contenders in the league as fans are extremely excited about what is in store for the 2023-24 season. One of the biggest contributing factors to that excitement is Austin Reaves, who is coming off of an incredible summer that raised his stock.

After balling out in the NBA Playoffs to cement himself as the third-best Laker on the biggest stage, Reaves suited up for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup and balled out there as well. The 2023 summer was the summer of Austin Reaves and he now enters the 2023-24 season as an established difference-maker.

Despite all of his growth and his strong play over the last six months, some former NBA players think Reaves is not going to grow any further. While previewing Lakers-Nuggets on opening night, Chandler Parson claims that Reaves will never be better than he is right now. While Parsons expressed love for Reaves, he also claimed that the fanbase and media will roast the third-year guard based on his expectations.

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Chandler Parsons take on Lakers’ Austin Reaves is ironically bad

It sounds like Chandler Parsons is taking some of his own experience in the league and is assuming that the same thing will happen to Reaves. For those that do not remember, Parsons broke out as a solid role player in the league, got a massive contract because of it, and never lived up to the expectations.

As a result, Parsons became a punch line for many jokes as fans and media members alike pointed out how bad his contract was. While he does not outright say it, it seems like Parsons is drawing from his own experience and assuming that Reaves will go down the same path.

There are some similarities as well. Both players burst onto the scene and shocked the NBA world. Reaves was an undrafted free agent, Parsons was a second-round pick. In the stretch from his second to fifth season in the league, Parsons averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and shot 38.5% from three.

Parsons was the player who he called Reaves: a “15 and 5 guy” who is never going to blossom into anything more than that. While that may have been the case for Parsons, it does not mean it will be the case for Reaves.

Even if Reaves doesn’t evolve and continues to play at the level he is playing now, there is no way that Lakers fans will turn on him. Reaves has turned into arguably the biggest fan favorite on the entire roster. His situation is far different from Parson’s situation.