On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the new-look Phoenix Suns, and one of the Suns’ new faces is a familiar one to Lakers fans: head coach Frank Vogel.
Vogel coached the Lakers for three seasons. During his first season, he guided them to the NBA championship in 2020.
Following the trade for Russell Westbrook in the summer of 2021, Vogel’s last season with the Purple and Gold was an unmitigated disaster. Although the team missed the play-in tournament that season, it possessed a glimmer of hope: an undrafted rookie named Austin Reaves.
Reaves has since emerged as a star and, in the eyes of some, a future All-Star. Per Mike Trudell, Vogel saw that potential when he watched film of the Arkansas native prior to the 2021 NBA draft, and he even saw Reaves as a smaller or poor man’s Luka Doncic.
Vogel said he remembers when LAL Asst. GM/Dir. of Scouting Jesse Buss gave the coaching staff film on Austin Reaves as a potential draft pick or undrafted FA, and thought of him as a smaller or poor man’s Luka Doncic, elite in screen/roll, and expected he’d improve as a shooter.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) October 27, 2023
Reaves averaged 13 points a game last season in his sophomore campaign while becoming one of the league’s most efficient offensive players. He upped his production during L.A.’s run to the Western Conference finals, and after that, he had a very strong run for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.
His ability to score, draw fouls, hit from the outside, handle the ball, facilitate for others and even defend a little is why many have given him such high praise over the last several months.