Austin Reeves, this name you may not have known before the start of the season, but after the season is over, I believe that many fans, especially Lakers fans, must know this player who is trying his best all the time on the court, but do you know his story and his basketball path?
After helping the team to a three-pointer against the Lone Rangers on December 15, he once again scored a three-pointer against the Jazz this month to help the team win in the final moments of the fourth quarter. Who is Austin Reeves? Why did he become an important member of the Lakers' rotation? Do you know he's actually a rookie who lost the election?
Austin Reeves' basketball path
Although Austin Reeves has always had friends and family to support him on the road to growth, in fact, his basketball path has always been looked down upon by others. In high school, he enrolled in a high school with little fame, and as a result, after graduating from high school, he did not have the opportunity to join a prestigious university and enrolled in Wichita State University.
However, in the early stages of his college career, he failed to perform at his best due to the impact of injuries (in fact, Reeves's shoulder injury had already appeared in high school), and he could only average 4.1 points per game as a substitute in his freshman season. As a result, Reeves decided to have surgery after the game that year to remove his injuries. In his sophomore season, his performance has clearly improved, averaging 8.1 points, 3.1 assists and 42.5% three-point shooting per game.
After that, he transferred to one of the more famous universities, the University of Oklahoma, and his performance became better and better, and he was able to average 18.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in his senior season. At this university, he met a man who supported him and believed he would become an NBA player, and that was his coach Kruger.
Austin Reeves is the first time he has heard a positive speech about his own strength from a coach who has been in basketball for many years. He believes that Kruger has seen different players and can tell who is good, so he gradually believes that his childhood dream is achievable. After his senior year, he announced that he would participate in the 2021 draft.
After the draft
Of course, it is the Lakers fans who know that Austin Reeves ultimately lost the draft and did not win the favor of any team at the draft. He eventually joined the Lakers' Summer League team. Although he was not the best in the Summer League, leaving only 7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2 assists, his hard work on the court was impressive, and he also had a good performance on the defensive end, so in the end the Lakers gave him a two-way player contract.
Unexpectedly, in the training of the Las Vegas team, he performed very well, which made the players and coaches of the team praise him, which also allowed him to enter the 15-man roster for the lakers' first game in the regular season. Due to injuries and diagnosis of the team's players, Austin Reeves gradually became a member of the rotation lineup.
And against the Lone Rangers and Jazz, we can see that Lakers coach Vogel is willing to believe in Reeves, even if he is a lost rookie, putting him on the court at the key moments of the game.
Why did Vogel believe him so much?
This season, the Lakers have brought in a lot of experienced veterans with the aim of impacting the championship again, and the team's rookies should have few opportunities to play. However, Austin Reeves's constant struggle on the court and the psychological quality of not being afraid of collisions on the pitch made Vogel choose to believe Reeves at the end of some games. You may wonder, how did Reeves help the team?
The team attacked
Austin Reeves is willing to block teammates (even if the opponent has a clear physical advantage) and create misplaced singles opportunities for teammates. In addition, in fact, he is a player who is good at creating fouls, and by actively making the opponent's hands or feet illegally touch his body, the referee has to blow it into a defensive foul. In addition to being good at creating fouls, he is also very good at completing under the basket, shooting 77.1% of the time, which is also a proof that he is not afraid of opponent collisions.
Team defensively
In addition to being willing to defend desperately on the pitch, Reeves can also read the opponent's attack. In addition to being able to rotate defensively in time, what is even more surprising is that he is good at creating fouls against opponents. So far 13 opponent collision fouls, ranking seventh in the league, but also the first place in the team.
Don't be arrogant, but keep confident
I believe that using this sentence to describe Austin Reeves may be the most appropriate, even if he enters the NBA, and even becomes a traditional strong team, an important rotation of a team with countless fans, he always reminds himself to maintain the mentality of becoming an NBA player and do his best on the court.
I believe that for many Lakers fans, he is a piece of jade that the team accidentally found this season, and I hope that the team will train him carefully. At the same time, although it is not known whether Reeves will become the second Caruso, it is certain that Reeves did not lose to his predecessors in terms of hard work.