When the Los Angeles Lakers reached the ultimate minutes of a good recreation it desperately wanted to win, the participant with the ball in his palms on each possession on Sunday night time wasn’t one in all its superstars, however an undrafted second-year reserve guard who has made a profession out of surpassing expectations.
Austin Reaves took over, scoring the Lakers’ final 10 factors through the last 93 seconds of a 111-105 win over the Orlando Magic that breathed life into Los Angeles’ flickering playoff hopes whereas LeBron James is out with a foot harm.
Reaves ended up with a career-high 35 factors, and Lakers followers serenaded him with chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” every time he stepped to the free-throw line down the stretch.
“It’s special,” Reaves stated. “I grew up a Lakers fan, so to do it for this organization especially is surreal. Sometimes I’ve got to stop and really think about what I am doing. Obviously, I think all the odds were stacked against me from where I’m from.”
Reaves has grow to be one thing greater than one other fascinating discover by the Lakers’ scouting division: The unsung prospect from rural Arkansas who performed extra baseball than basketball rising up is now a flexible, important a part of Los Angeles’ rotation. He’s in line for an enormous pay elevate in free company this summer time — after he helps the Lakers into the playoffs, he hopes.
“He carried us tonight with his play,” Anthony Davis stated after Reaves added six rebounds and 6 assists whereas hitting 9 of his 14 pictures in opposition to Orlando. “He got whatever he wanted, pick-and-rolls, 3s, got to the line 18 times. We know what we have in Austin. We’re very confident in him.”
Reaves grew to become solely the seventh participant in franchise historical past to attain no less than 35 factors in a reserve position, however the way in which he acquired his factors was notably spectacular. Driving to the ring and capturing with confidence, he additionally repeatedly baited the Magic into fouls after which made 16 of his 18 free throws, each profession highs.
“He gets a lot of those calls,” Davis stated. “Me and Bron joke about it, like, ‘Man, we wish we could get some of those.’ As a guard, he’s able to — I don’t want to say manipulate the game — but to see how the game is being called and use it to his advantage, like guys who get a lot of free throws.”
Reaves stated he has studied how James Harden and Trae Young draw fouls and tried to include their methods into his recreation. Between his penchant for getting fouled and his bodily strategy on protection, Reaves recurrently finally ends up reasonably bloodied or bruised after video games.
Reaves sees it as a approach to assist the Lakers with out counting on superior energy or world-class velocity. Lakers coach Darvin Ham calls him a daredevil, whereas James describes him as fearless.
“I’ve said many times I’m not the most athletic person in the world,” Reaves stated. “I’m not the best at anything, but I think I’m really good at a lot of things.”
Reaves jokes about his restricted athletic capacity, but he could be probably the most athletic particular person in virtually any room on the planet — besides the room the place he spends most of his life.
And basketball is in his blood: Both of his mother and father had been achieved gamers at Arkansas State, his mom a high-scoring 6-footer and his father a playmaking guard. He grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant, his grandmother’s favourite participant.
He was modestly recruited out of highschool, and he headed to the professionals after 5 years in faculty at Wichita State and Oklahoma. He began out on a two-way contract with the Lakers final season however performed his approach right into a agency NBA position as a rookie.
Reaves might be a restricted free agent this summer time, and Lakers followers are already fretting about his future two years after they misplaced Alex Caruso, one other undrafted discover who performed his approach into a serious position on the 2020 championship group. Los Angeles allowed Caruso to depart for Chicago apparently to keep away from including to its luxurious tax invoice, despite the fact that Caruso stated he would have given a reduction to remain.
The Lakers can match any contract provide given to Reaves, and it’s clear how its superstars really feel about him: James cheered for Reaves’ huge end from the bench earlier than tweeting about Reaves postgame: “You toooooo TOUGH!!”
Reaves smiled when he was proven the tweet, briefly wanting like a star-struck Lakers fan as soon as once more.
“I felt like there was a really good chemistry IQ-wise from day one,” Reaves stated of his bond with James. “Stuff like that (tweet) means a lot to me. Looking back in 20 years when I’m hopefully retired, playing golf every day, I can tell my kids, my grandkids.”
