The Lakeshow Review

Lakers guard Austin Reaves is coming off the heels of an extremely disappointing series versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. During the Lakers’ brief 5-game playoff rodeo against Minnesota, Reaves tallied an underwhelming 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while shooting a meek 41% from the from field and 32% from beyond the arc. Now, these aren’t bad numbers per se, but after a gaudy regular season that saw AR establish career marks in points per game (20.2), rebounds (4.5) and assists (5.8) on a minty 46/38/88 slash line, his playoff output certainly felt like a massive drop off. Not to mention a costly one for the Los Angeles Lakers, who were unable to get any sort of consistent offense from anyone not named Luka Dončić, even LeBron looked paltry for stretches. AR certainly did not help matters. His game seemed to be disrupted by the Timberwolves’ length and athleticism, and it certainly ignited many of his critics to voice their frustrations, and rightfully so. AR was not good, and his level of play was definitely a factor in the Lakers humbling loss to Minnesota, albeit not the only one, nor the main one. Thus, there is chatter that perhaps the Lakers should move on. That he has reached his ceiling, or that he has regressed. In my opinion, these takes are premature. While I do concede that Austin sucked during the Lakers short playoff stint, I still view him as somebody that the Lakers should keep around. As his offensive versatility and shotmaking are all valuable skills that this team needs more of as they build into the future. 

For starters, AR’s contract kicks ass. In the summer 2023 he signed a 4 year, $53.8M contract, bolstered by a promising sophomore campaign. This has proven to be one of the better contracts in basketball, as his season averages have been steadily improving, while his contract stays relatively the same ($13.9M in 2026, then $14.9M in 2027). It should be noted that the last year of the deal, 2027, is a player option. 

Reaves had an extraordinary back half of the season in 2025. Following the D’Angelo Russell trade on December 29th, AR averaged 21.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists on 47/38/90 splits the rest of the way, after being given a vote of confidence by Head Coach JJ Redick. He proved to be easily one of the better third options in the game, playing behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and later Luka Dončić. Certainly, the playoffs painted a different picture. His scoring dropped to 16.2PPG (-4 from regular season) despite his shot attempts roughly increasing (14.2 in the regular season versus 14.6 in the playoffs). One of Reaves’ superpowers is his ability to produce at relatively high efficiency despite low usage. A value that he has displayed all throughout his career so far. Unfortunately, he was unable to sustain this type of play in the postseason. 

The good news is, we actually do have a fairly recent and substantive sample size where Reaves has in fact excelled in the playoffs. In 2023, during LA’s surprise run the Western Conference Finals, Austin was one of the catalysts, pouring in 16.9PPG (good for third on the team) to go with 4.4 RPG, and 4.6APG. He was particularly excellent in his first ever playoff game, a 128-112 road win at Memphis, where he scored 23 points (14 of them in the 4th quarter) to go with 4 assists, authoring the now infamous “I”M HIM!” soundbyte. He was consistent throughout the Lakers’ 16-game playoff run, including the Western Conference Finals, where the team fell to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in 4 games. In 2024, he was again solid, scoring 16.8PPG on 47% shooting. He was, however, bad from beyond the arc, shooting just 27% from that range. This season, he once again struggled with his three pointer, shooting a below-league-average 32% against Minnesota. This could be a trend, where he struggles with his three ball come playoff time. I would attribute this year’s playoff struggles partly to a big toe injury Austin sustained before the playoffs, as well as the Lakers’ general offensive strategy which lacked the crisp off-ball movement that we’d grown accustomed to seeing from them throughout the regular season. However, Reaves’ struggles these playoffs are mostly on him. He as well as several other players on the Lakers’ roster failed to live up to their billing during the Minnesota series. All in all, I don’t think Reaves is a playoff dud. He had a terrible series, but I think his game is such where he in fact possesses the attributes to be a plus postseason performer. Like I mentioned, there is a reasonable sample size that suggests Reaves can in fact excel in the playoffs, and I am of the opinion that once he develops more chemistry with Luka, they will be able to play off of each other more fruitfully and with better results. I want to sat that I believe in Austin Reaves as a playoff guy.

One thing I like about AR, is the kid is clutch. If you believe in that sort of thing. I certainly do. His clutch time splits have been rather good, so far in his young career. I will define clutch scoring as points scored during the final 2 minutes of 1-possession games. Under these parameters, Reaves proved sharply productive during the 2025 NBA regular season. He tallied 16 points, making 5 out of his 9 field goals (good for 55%). He also made all of his 5 free throws. The teams’ W-L record in these such games was 10-8. Keep in mind, he is the teams’ number three option, behind LeBron and AD (and later Luka). Yet he finished second on the team in clutch scoring behind LeBron James. Austin was also 50th in the NBA in clutch scoring. Not too shabby. The year before last, 2023, also saw AR finish with 19 clutch time points, connecting on all 4 of his field goals (100%) and hitting on 10 of his 12 free throws (83%) during these such moments. The team’s W-L in these games was 11-8. In my opinion this is a rather valuable and underrated skill to have, particularly from someone that isn’t the team’s top player. While these numbers are far from perfect, it’s clear that AR is someone who’s unafraid of the moment. His robust offensive skillset enables him to get high quality shots off in these situations. Even during this year’s playoffs, where he could he couldn’t hit the ocean from a boat, he was still willing to take the shots. Yeah he missed many of them. But the aptitude is there. Reaves doesn’t back down, and I think that given his attitude and work ethic, these failures will only provide the motivating fuel for AR to come back hungrier and more determined. And that’s precisely the attitude that I want the players on this team to adopt.

Perhaps the one thing that keeps Austin Reaves from being a pitch perfect for a Luka Dončić team is his defense. It’s not pretty. His lack of athleticism and inability to keep up with players with a naturally quick first step can be frustrating. I see it, just like I’m sure everybody sees it. I think there is still room for improvement for Austin in the defensive department. But I also don’t think that he will ever develop the reputation of a ‘lockdown’ defender. Teams continue to matchup hunt him, as the Minnesota Timberwolves did these playoffs. This is compounded by the fact that Luka Dončić has many of the same deficiencies. Of course, with Luka, you can be inclined to overlook those deficiencies because his offense is so damn good. Not terribly dissimilar from another Lakers legend, Earvin “Magic” Johnson. But with Reaves, those issues can, potentially, cancel out the positives. Because as good as his offense can be, it simply isn’t quite to the point that you’re willing to overlook the defensive shortcomings. This is why, I have suggested, and continue to suggest, that perhaps Austin Reaves is best suited as a sixth man. But I don’t exactly view this as a demotion. Many championship rosters have historically enjoyed the services of great bench players that have the ability to check in to a game and affect it in a positive fashion. Think Manu Ginobili. Or Toni Kukoc. Or Vinnie Johnson. Or Lamar Odom. Or Michael Cooper. I think Austin Reaves can fit into this mold. It’s already in his DNA. He’s the guy that occasionally can punch above his weight class. He’s the guy that for a stretch, or two, can catch a heater and match the other teams’ best scorer. This is why he’s better suited off the bench. He can catch lightning in a bottle, and when he does, you can ride him. When he doesn’t, or when you happen to be going up against an opponent that is a bad matchup for him, then you sit him, just like any other historically great bench player. Austin’s defense doesn’t have to be such an achilles heel for this team. Provided of course that the team stops putting him in situations where his defensive abilities can get exposed. It remains to be seen if AR would go along with this philosophy. Maybe he views himself as a starter. In which case maybe things could get interesting. Which leads me to my final point. 

Austin has the ability to enter the final year of his contract in 2025-26. AR signed a 4 year extension in the summer of 2023, with a player option for his final season. This means that in the summer of 2026 Austin can forego the final year in his deal and opt for free agency. For this reason, I would like to see the Lakers brass actively pursue an extension for AR, in order to keep him long-term. Something in the neighborhood of 4 years/$90M. If he takes it, great. He’s still great value at that figure. If he declines, things could get interesting, and you’d have to consider placing AR on the trade block. I’m a big Austin Reaves fan. The kid clearly loves the game. He works hard. He’s a tremendous story. He can get to the rim and shoot the ball with a formidable bag to go with it. He seems to love being a Laker. However, I don’t think he’s worth anywhere near $30M to this team. Not when they still have so many holes to fill, such few assets and such little roster flexibility. As things stand, the Lakers are capped out and well over the luxury tax. I view Austin as someone who can be an essential pillar to the building of this roster, just as long as it’s at a reasonable price. But ultimately, the ball’s in his court. He will get paid what he thinks he’s worth, and if that figure happens to be anywhere close to the Lakers’ preferred figure, then he’s definitely a player to keep. You want role players with agency, and with the initiative to step into the spotlight whenever the situation or the team requires it. I believe AR has the mindset and the game to go with it. And unless he’s traded for someone like Giannis, I truly hope he can be a Laker for years to come. Despite his playoff failures, his journey and career trajectory suggests that he can be a better player because of them. He’s the type of role player you want on your team. Go Lakers.