Few players have endeared themselves to Los Angeles Lakers fans quite like Austin Reaves. The former undrafted free agent has traveled the unbeaten path to a prominent place in the Lakers' rotation, ultimately establishing himself as one of the top talents on the roster.
Approaching the 2024-25 NBA regular season, the pressure is now on Reaves to build upon past success and truly cement his status as the third star in Los Angeles.
Reaves is coming off of the best season of his three-year NBA career. He averaged career-best marks across the board at 15.9 points, 5.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 1.9 three-point field goals made in 32.1 minutes per game.
Reaves' efficiency took a slight dip, but he remained above the league average in eFG% at .568 and finished with an impressive slash line of .486/.367/.853.
Reaves maintained quality play in both an off-ball and on-ball role. For instance, he shot 36.7 percent on catch-and-shoot threes and an almost identical 37.3 percent on pull-ups. He also further established himself as a high-level isolation player.
Reaves was second on the Lakers in drives per game at 8.4 and shot 55.5 percent on those attempts—which is exactly what makes him the perfect candidate for the role he needs to fill.
Lakers need Austin Reaves to become the true third star in 2024-25
There's an easy case to be made that Reaves is the second-best isolation perimeter player on the Lakers after LeBron James. He's proven adept at creating off the bounce for both himself and others, including impressive finishing ability in the paint.
With a tight handle, the skill to finish his attacks, and the willingness and ability to find the open man, Reaves has the tools to continue his growth into a true third star.
In a perfect world, that burden would continue to be thrust upon him in a slow and progressive manner. The reality that Reaves and the Lakers face, however, is that LeBron James will turn 40 in December and Anthony Davis needs a perimeter complement who can help him pace the team through an 82-game season.
James' mere presence on the court makes the task more manageable for Reaves to accomplish, but the time for patience is running out in Los Angeles.
It's hard to put a statistical figure on what the Lakers need from Reaves, especially when one considers how productive Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell are trusted to be. Beyond the numbers is a challenging reality, however, that James can't be tasked with always saving the team when it needs him to.
Interior players like Davis have inherent limitations based on size and skill set alone, making perimeter players such as Reaves essential to disrupting opposing teams' runs and scoring late in games.
In 2024-25, the Lakers need Reaves to assert himself further as a scorer and playmaker to take pressure off of James and Davis alike. More importantly, they need him to improve on defense to the point that the impact of his offense can be felt more profoundly.
If Reaves can take that final step toward stardom, then the Lakers' championship window will open wider than the critics expect it to.