5 Los Angeles Lakers who will be better in 2024-25 than they were in 2023-24

3. Austin Reaves

At this point, there's no reason to believe Austin Reaves will stop improving. Yes, he needs to take a step forward on the defensive end of the floor, but his offensive game has dramatically improved across each of his first three NBA seasons.

Coming off of a career-year in almost every statistical category, it stands to reason that Reaves should take another step forward and potentially become the true third option in Los Angeles.

Reaves finished the 2023-24 regular season with averages of 15.9 points, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 1.9 three-point field goals made per game—all of which were career-best marks. He also set a new career high with 21 games of at least 20 points scored in a single season.

Reaves' efficiency inevitably dipped as he took on the biggest role of his NBA career, but he remained comfortably above the league average eFG% of .547 at .568.

In 2024-25, Reaves can be expected to take another step forward as a scorer and playmaker. He'll be one of the primary players tasked with alleviating some of the regular season burden from LeBron James in those areas, and will also be challenged by head coach JJ Redick to improve on defense.

No matter what the statistics end up looking like, expect Reaves to become more of a two-way player while further refining his offensive skill set and thriving in a system that's more favorable to his playing style.