Austin Reaves keeps getting better. He's improved his scoring and assist output each of his four seasons in the league, and is expected to be the No. 3 option for the Lakers this season and beyond, forming a fascinating big three with LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
But after his first-career 20 PPG season, recent history suggests that Reaves' scoring output could decrease a little bit in 2025-26. That's not through any fault of Reaves, but because it's hard to have three 20-point scorers on one team, especially when two of those spots are already guaranteed to be filled by James and Doncic.
Since LeBron joined the Lakers, he's played with two fellow 20-point per game scoreres — Reaves and Anthony Davis — and it looked like last season was going to be the first time both of them averaged over 20 PPG... then the trade happened. In Davis' place is now Doncic, who is one of the best passers in the game, but also a guy who is going to shoot a lot. There might simply not be enough attempts for Reaves to reach that 20-point mark that he ascended to last year for the first time.
In Dallas, Luka never had two teammates average 20-plus points per game in the same season. Is that a product of his dominance as a ball-handler, or a lack of guys who actually could score 20-plus consistently? Maybe a little of both? I think it's a little of both. Doncic was paired with Kyrie Irving the past few seasons, and Kristaps Porzingis before that. Outside of those guys, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone on those Mavs' rosters who should have averaged 20 points per game but didn't.
So the 2025-26 Lakers are an interesting test case; like I said, LeBron and Luka have gotten used to basically running two-man games with the one other star on their respective teams. But this version of Austin Reaves is without a doubt the best third option either of them has been accompanied by in many years.
Lakers need to fully maximize their big three
Thus, will he be used as a supercharged, highly efficient third option, or will he still get the volume of a second option with LeBron and Luka being the guys who see their volume dip a tad?
It's not impossible for a team to trot out three guys who score 20 every night; plus, if it happens, things are probably going pretty well! The NBA champion Boston Celtics did just that in 2023-24, as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis all averaged over 20 points per night and they won the title pretty easily.
The 2025-26 Lakers don't have quite the firepower that team did, but JJ Redick does still have a top-flight big three, and deciding how to maximize each of their skillsets will shape the Lakers season. Can Redick keep Reaves' scoring level from a year ago? Does he want to? Or will a slilghtly smaller scoring role be in the cards for the fifth-year man?