One of the bright spots over the last two seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers has been guard Austin Reaves, who has emerged as a very good player and an improbable story.
He went undrafted two years ago and signed with them as a free agent on a two-way contract. At first, little was expected from him, but he quickly showed he had potential during his rookie season.
This year, he greatly improved his 3-point shooting while showing increased poise as a ball-handler and facilitator, and he only got better as the season wore on. In his first postseason, he continued to shine brightly while displaying plenty of confidence.
Reaves may never become an All-Star, but he has become very important to the Lakers’ championship hopes. In fact, they are reportedly a “lock” to do whatever it takes financially to keep the soon-to-be restricted free agent this summer.
But sports media personality Colin Cowherd thinks the Lakers are too enamored with the Arkansas native.
"Are the Lakers getting delusional because they found him?"
— @ColinCowherd plays the blind resume game with Austin Reaves pic.twitter.com/CAqw51WYEI
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) June 28, 2023
Cowherd did a blind comparison with players such as Grayson Allen, Patrick Beverley, Mac McClung and Kelly Olynyk, arguing that Reaves’ stats through two seasons are comparable with all four men. However, Reaves made a major jump this year, making such a comparison inaccurate and misleading.
The commentator feels that perhaps Los Angeles prizes Reaves so much because the team “found” him as its own diamond in the rough.
