Is it dangerous to make a long-term evaluation of a player based on the first three games of a season? Absolutely. However, the conversation and sample size with Austin Reaves extends far beyond that. The initial outings for him in 2026-27 build on what has already been there.
Reaves has started the season averaging 26.7 points and 6.3 assists in 35.3 minutes per game for the Los Angeles Lakers. The efficiency over these first three outings has been mind-boggling. The Lakers star is shooting 64-62-90. That adds up to a true shooting percentage of 82.0.
Are those ridiculous percentages sustainable across an entire NBA season? Barring the most absurd campaign of guard efficiency in league history, no. However, there should be real hope this is a sign of what is to come for Reaves in 2026-27 as a whole.
The Lakers paid up for him to be a max player and second star next to Luka Doncic. That came from the data they collected over recent seasons. Every time Reaves was asked to do more, he delivered. Added responsibility was typically met with increased deliverables. It is time for a full year of that.
Austin Reaves is quickly justifying the Lakers data that led to his second-star promotion
Austin Reaves w/o LeBron James in 2025-26: 28.4 ppg, 7.8 apg
— Svyatoslav Rovenchuk (@JJBuckets17) October 25, 2026
Austin Reaves to start 2026-27: 26.7 ppg (64 FG%), 6.3 apg.
Only 3 games, but it feels safe to say the extra offensive touches are gonna yield another statistical breakout
When LeBron James did not play in 2025-26, Reaves averaged 28.4 points, 7.8 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game. That included a field goal percentage of 48.9 and a mark of 35.7 percent from beyond the arc. The short version: the Lakers guard was really good with added offensive touches.
That was the case even before Doncic was in Los Angeles. When it was still Reaves, James, and Anthony Davis, asking the former undrafted guard to do more was typically met with similar success.
There had to be an overwhelming temptation for the Lakers to find out if that was sustainable for a full season. That is especially true given how well Reaves functioned with Doncic.
The explosive duo posted a net rating of 8.9 in their 1092 minutes together during the 2025-26 season. Despite some of the personnel issues around them, Austin and Luka had an offensive rating of 118.5 and a defensive rating of 109.6 when sharing the court. Pretty good, right?
Rob Pelinka and the front office certainly thought so. They remodeled the entire team around their backcourt partnership. Given the 60-win pace those two played at during the last regular season, it was a fair gamble.
It would be easy to dismiss Reaves' hot start to the year as a case of it being too early to tell for the freshly-promoted star. That would ignore everything that led to making him the second option in Los Angeles. This is more of a continuation than a new occurrence.
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