Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers are in awe of Austin Reaves, who is finally free of the shackles called LeBron James and Luka Doncic who were holding him back. All jokes aside, his all-around dominance to start the season has put him among the all-time greats in Lakers lore.
The Lakers are supposed to be an offensive juggernaut with three on-ball scorers and playmakers, with Austin Reaves the spunky kid filling in around his superstar older brothers (fun fact: Reaves is older than Luka Doncic).
Yet with LeBron sidelined with sciatica and Doncic now out with finger and knee injuries, Reaves stood alone as the only real offensive engine for the Lakers. Could the relatively unproven guard step up to the challenge?
The answer was not only yes, but it was blasted from the speakers at maximum volume. In the Lakers' first game without Doncic, Reaves was everything for the team on offense. He dropped 51 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists on the Sacramento Kings. In a game the Lakers won by seven, he was +22 in 39 minutes. One performance has him propelled toward a maximum contract next summer.
It was far from a one-hit wonder, however. Against an elite defensive team in the Portland Trail Blazers the next night, Reaves was at it again. He scored 41 points on 13-for-22 shooting, and while the Lakers lost by 14 points, Reaves was +0 in his 39 minutes; the simple math there is that in the nine minutes when Reaves rested, the Lakers were outscored by 14 points.
All in all, Reaves has averaged 35.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game to start the season. In those four games he has totaled 45 free-throws and 51 attempts, both leading the league. He is shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range and 66 percent from 2; it's hard to say which is the most impressive. This is a guy who was undrafted just five seasons ago.
Austin Reaves is making history
All of those numbers seem wildly impressive on the surface, but dig deeper and they are historically impressive for someone wearing purple and gold. In fact, if you set the bar just under Reaves' averages, only four players in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers have ever put up these numbers in a four-game span. And wow are they some impressive names.
The only Lakers to average 35-6.5-8 over any four-game span are all in the pantheon of all-time Lakers. Elgin Baylor. Jerry West. Magic Johnson. LeBron James. That's a 10-time All-NBA forward and former MVP who was the best scorer of his era in Baylor, and the literal NBA logo in West. Magic redefined the point guard position and won five titles. And then, of course, some no-name who has had the greatest career in the history of basketball. That is rarefied air.
The timing is also special. Looking outside of the Lakers, only two players in NBA history have ever averaged these numbers over the first four games of a season, and it's a pair of players that Lakers fans are well acquainted with: Russell Westbrook, in his first four games for the Oklahoma City Thunder after Kevin Durant left; and Luka Doncic, who kicked off the 2022-23 season with a bang for the Dallas Mavericks. Again, rareified air.
Will Austin Reaves average these numbers for the rest of the season? Surely not. No one ever has. Yet the level of play he has been at, carrying the Lakers despite a significant lack of help around him, screams that this is not a fluke and that we have a star on our hands. It will make for some difficult decisions moving forward, but for now, it's exactly what the Lakers need.
All hail the brilliance of Austin Tyler Reaves.