[autotag]Austin Reaves[/autotag]’ college basketball journey started at Wichita State in 2016 before he transferred out and forever became a member of the Oklahoma Sooners family. He sat out a year before being able to play because the transfer portal had not been created in 2018.
His Oklahoma career saw him average 16.3 points per game in two years for the Sooners and he started all 56 games during his tenure. He chipped in 4 assists and 5 boards a game as well. He made plays against tough teams and future pros.
After his redshirt senior year in Norman, Reaves waded into the NBA waters with no guarantee he’d be drafted. That’s exactly what would happen too. Reaves went undrafted and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-way contract. In the MGM Resorts NBA Summer League, Reaves played well averaging 6.6 points, and 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal in 22.2 minutes.
Reaves’ summer league performance earned him a two-year contract. One with partial guarantees for year one and a team option in year two.
The former Sooners guard made his NBA debut on October 22, 2021 for a Lakers team in need of a spark and considerable help in the backcourt. The Lakers were dealing with injuries and unproductive rotation players for a struggling Lakers team expected to contend for the Western Conference, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
He’d post 8 points in his debut against the the Pheonix Suns. In December, after getting comfortable with his role at the NBA level, Reaves began to stand out.
Reaves dropped 15 points, on 5-of-6 shooting from three, grabbed 7 rebounds, and hit a game-winning 3-pointer in a 107–104 victory over Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
Former OU Sooner and current LA Lakers Austin Reaves hits the game winning 3 point shot to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-104. Russell Westbrook made the winning assist to Reaves. pic.twitter.com/jhFzQ4EdgR
— OKC CBS Sports 105.3FM (@OKCCBSSPORTS105) December 16, 2021
For the remainder of the season, Reaves battled inconsistent minutes despite his steadying presence for a Lakers team that was broken mentally and physically. Los Angeles suffered a number of injuries to star players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis in addition to Kendrick Nunn who projected to start for the Lakeshow.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel seemed to trust Reaves at times and other times it was as if Reaves never existed. As it became more apparent the Lakers were going to be unable to wheel and deal for outside help to right the ship, an uptick in Reaves minutes saw positive results.
Despite the Lakers’ inability to make the playoffs with their plethora of future hall of famers, Reaves cemented himself in the final game of his rookie season. The former Sooners guard exploded for a triple-double against the Denver Nuggets. He put up a career-high 31 points, along with 16 rebounds and 10 assists, in a 146–141 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets.
That was the first time in NBA history an undrafted rookie dropped a 30-point triple-double and only the second player ever to record a triple-double in their rookie season after going undrafted.
In the season finale, Austin Reaves became just the 2nd undrafted rookie in NBA history to drop a triple-double. pic.twitter.com/umlLFyYk5f
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 12, 2022
He also joined an elite Lakers list of Lonzo Ball, Elgin Baylor (NBA Hall of Famer), Jerry West (Hall of Famer and the man the NBA Logo is modeled after), Magic Johnson (widely considered one of the 10 best players ever and Hall of Famer) as the only Lakers players ever to post triple-doubles as rookies.
With that win, the Lakers season ended and Reaves spoke to Lakers media about his rookie year.
Austin Reaves on what he'll remember from his rookie year: "I got to play with six Hall of Famers at one point."
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) April 11, 2022
It’s an accomplishment to play with one hall of fame player in an NBA career, but six at one point is incredibly insane and was a massive opportunity for Reaves. The ability to learn from their ability and their talent could prove invaluable as he heads into his first full offseason with the Lakers.
For Reaves, his future seems a lot more secure and straightforward than it was at this point last year. He’s on an NBA team and he’ll be returning next year as a great rotational piece for whoever the Lakers hire to replace one-time NBA championship-winning coach Frank Vogel.
For Reaves, that means a fresh start and a fresh opportunity to prove himself as he’s done so many times before. From his leap of faith from Wichita State to Oklahoma and his success in the Crimson & Cream to posting 30 point triple-doubles like his teammates LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have done so frequently, Reaves has made a name for himself. Now he has a perfect opportunity to build on that and become an even bigger and more integral part of what will be a new-look Lakers team next year.
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