Luka Doncic has followed an eerily similar path to LeBron James en route to his success through eight seasons. Much as James won championships with superstar scorers and elite closers in Kyrie Irving and Dwyane Wade, Doncic has made two Conference Finals and an NBA Finals with Irving and Jalen Brunson.
The question when Doncic arrived in Los Angeles was whether or not it could produce a player of that caliber to fill the essential scoring and closing role. Austin Reaves has provided an answer: Yes.
Reaves is in the midst of an all-around brilliant season. He’s averaging 23.9 points, 5.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.5 three-point field goals made per game on .500/.380/.873 shooting. From top to bottom, it’s been a stellar year.
What’s made Reaves the perfect co-star for Doncic, however, is that he’s one of the absolute best fourth quarter scoring threats in the NBA—so much so that only two superstars rank ahead of him.
Thus far in 2025-26, Reaves ranks No. 3 in the NBA in points per fourth quarter at 7.6 per game on an absurd slash line of .547/.486/.852. The only two players who currently rank ahead of him in that statistic are two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and reigning All-NBA First Team honoree Donovan Mitchell.
Though the playoffs remain the true proving ground for Reaves, his performance in the regular season has offered reason to believe he can be Doncic’s perfect No. 2.
Austin Reaves ranks No. 3 in NBA in points per fourth quarter
Doncic has a known history of being at his best when he has a co-star who can take over as a scorer in the fourth quarter. It’s not necessarily a knock against him, but much like James, he shoulders an overwhelmingly heavy burden on the offensive end of the floor and thus needs a scorer alongside him who can step up late in games.
It’s a proven truth that’s less about Doncic’s quality as a player and more about creating an ideal structure for team success given how the first three quarters tend to revolve around his play.
That much has been proven in 2025-26, as Doncic actually ranks third on the Lakers in points per fourth quarter behind Reaves and James. He's scoring 4.2 points per game during the final frame of regulation, shooting at a clip of just .429/.325/.783.
Doncic is still well on his way to winning a second career scoring title, but the clear decline in efficiency and volume in the fourth quarter is clear evidence of how essential Reaves has been.
Furthermore, Doncic was second on the Mavericks in points per fourth quarter behind Irving in 2023-24, when Dallas reached the NBA Finals. Though he led the Mavericks in the statistic in 2021-22, when they made it to the Western Conference Finals, Brunson was one of Doncic's four teammates that averaged within 1.6 points of his fourth quarter average.
With Reaves suddenly and surprisingly evolving from a clear-cut third option into the go-to player in the fourth quarter, Doncic has the key ingredient to maximizing his Lakers teams' potential.