“ As far back as I can remember, I’ve never really been the best player on any of my teams. “When he looks back, Austin Reaveswhose role has always been to facilitate » the lives of others, nevertheless finds several exceptions to his observation: his last two years in high school and his last year of university in Oklahoma.
With the Sooners, during the 2020-21 season, he averaged more than 18 points and 5 rebounds and about 5 assists. Insufficient, however, to be drafted. A few weeks later, he still manages to join the Lakers squad for the “Summer league” and sign a “two-way contract”.
It is in this context that he begins to attract the attention of… LeBron James. The latter does him the honor of inviting him to his personal mini-camp in Las Vegas, organized a few days before the official resumption of the Lakers. The young man, who grew up drawing inspiration from the game of Joe Ingles in particular, finds himself in the middle of a galaxy of stars: Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Carmelo Anthony…
Camp starts. ” We didn’t play much at first, around 10 to 15 minutes a day. “recalls Austin Reaves, interviewed by Shams Charania. Game exercises in transition, in excess (2 against 1 then 3 against 2) or in three against three, are set up.
On an action, the rear picks up a rebound. ” I looked to my right, Russ in the hallway and Bron in the left. And there, everything stopped in my head. Like: ‘I should give the ball to one of the guys and get out of the way!’ “Laughs today Austin Reaves, who had the opportunity to talk about it with Anthony Davis recently.
“I freaked out! »
Rather than passing on the leather, he decides to make people appreciate his qualities as a ball handler. “ It was a three-on-three at the time and Rondo was defending on me. And I was like, ‘Okay… Do something, pass Rondo.’ And I found an opening, I was going to try to go up to the dunk. And then I saw ‘AD’ coming in to counter me. I freaked out! So I turned in the air and thank God Bron cut in the middle. I gave him the ball and he dunked. »
A decisive pass synonymous with relief. ” And after that, everything fell into place, I was really comfortable. And that’s probably when I was like, ‘Okay, I can play with these guys. »
His confidence will be rewarded a few days later as the Lakers convert his precarious contract into a regular contract, ahead of the season. The fact of having caught the eye of LeBron James undoubtedly played. ” I didn’t expect much from him. When you bring in an undrafted player, you don’t have a lot of expectations of them. », candidly remembers the “King”who had watched Austin Reaves videos anyway.
” I had seen his ability to lead the game and play without the ball. He had a high basketball IQ, he was able to play for himself or find open players, I could see his IQ in action every time he played in Oklahoma. Once he arrived at our house and the coach (Frank) Vogel put him in the fire from the start, you could see he was capable of playing at this level for a long time. It was no surprise to me “, ends LeBron James, whose teammate is now an essential cog in the Lakers machine.
| Austin Reaves | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2021-22 | ALL | 61 | 23 | 45.9 | 31.7 | 83.9 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 7.3 |
| 2022-23 | ALL | 64 | 29 | 52.9 | 39.8 | 86.4 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 13.0 |
| Total | 125 | 26 | 50.1 | 36.3 | 85.6 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 10.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
