"League is very generous on assists"- $54 million guard stays grounded after leading LA Lakers in preseason assists
Following two preseason games, Austin Reaves leads the LA Lakers in assists with 7.0 per game. Amid his latest performances, Reaves was asked to shed some light on his stride as of late. However, he chose to remain humble and credited his recent success to his teammates.
The Lakers guard is entering his fourth season with the team after putting up impressive individual numbers last season, where he played in all 82 games. Austin Reaves put up 15.9 points (48.6% shooting, including 36.7% from beyond the arc), 5.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. He is also signed to a four-year $54 million contract with the team, as per Spotrac.
Reaves' comments were shared by ESPN's Dave McMenamin on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The league is very generous on the assists and you can pass it and they can take two-three dribbles and it's an assist which is beautiful," Reaves said. "It's just, you know, like I said, playing the game the right way. If someone's open, pass it to them. ... All it is for me is everything is working smoothly and everything being connected."
Under the new coaching system of JJ Redick, Austin Reaves has continued to show growth in his game. It's more than just increasing his scoring average but he has also made improvements on how he reads the court during plays.
Lakers coach talked about Austin Reaves' promising defensive capability
In an interview with Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner, Redick spoke highly of Austin Reaves being willing to accept different defensive assignments.
"I never thought he was a chump defensively, but he competes his a** off on that end," Redick said. "He knows what he's supposed to do. He's in the right spots. If he's supposed to veer, he veers. If he's supposed to be the low man, he's the low man. If he's supposed to be at the nail, he's at the nail. He just does a lot of really good things on the basketball floor."
Compared to his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, Reaves is not known as a defensive ace in the league. However, he is not one who doesn't make an effort to guard his man on the court per possession.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, Austin Reaves has shown the work he has put in during the offseason with his defensive capabilities and his playmaking leap.
Last season, the purple and gold squad finished as the seventh seed in the Western Conference standings with a 47-35 record. With a new coach, the team envisions a different type of year this time around.