One of the few bright spots in an otherwise catastrophic season for the Los Angeles Lakers was rookie guard Austin Reaves.
After emerging at the University of Oklahoma, Reaves went undrafted. L.A. signed him to a two-way contract, but converted it to a standard contract weeks later.
Reaves quickly became a revelation for outgoing head coach Frank Vogel. The rookie showed he is capable of defending, hustling, handling the ball and making plays while displaying a visceral feel for the game.
But he admitted that midway through the schedule, he hit the dreaded rookie wall.
Via Lakers Nation:
“It’s definitely a thing because college, high school you play at max 36 games, maybe 40 and then the NBA as we all know 82 games. I think it’s more of like the mental part of it, or for me it was at least,” Reaves said. “I caught myself just, not checked out, but just mentally fatigued. And like you said you just gotta man up and push through. I just kept reminding myself that playing basketball for a living, I could be doing a lot of other things, but I’m doing what I love and just mentally tried to push through it and leave everything out there.”
The rookie wall is a thing that all first-year players have to deal with, even the ones who are future Hall of Famers. The length of the NBA season, combined with how drastically faster-paced the pro game is and the difference in the level of talent compounds over time and confounds even the toughest rooks.
Over the last few weeks of the season, Reaves perked up, and so did his level of play. He scored in double figures in each of his last four games, and he ended the schedule with a 31-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist explosion in a spirited overtime win over the Denver Nuggets.
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