Austin Reaves Has Been Great In FIBA ... Could He Be An All-Star?

[Nazrmohamed]

I'm sure he can make it. I feel like every yr there's a guy one might consider a role player that does and to me he's better than most. It really depends on the fans. What I will say is that I am thoroughly impressed by him and what he's doing in FIBA. I kindov heard about him play season but wasn't really paying attention

[og15]

The hype that Reaves is getting is out of control. Is the guy is even the best guard on his own team? I mean D'Aenglo Russell was unplayable in the Western Conference finals vs the Nuggets, but he was a 17-5 guy in the regular season and has been more or less that for most of his career. I don't see Reaves ever becoming a 17-5 guy. Both are bad on defense, so Reaves doesn't even close gap between him and Russell based on his defense. I think both are average playmakers. Also putting inflated numbers in FIBA doesn't mean all star potential. Otherwise, Mo Wagner, Dennis Schroader, Bobby Portis, along with others would've developed into a all cailber star already. The dude is role player and a average to below average one at that. I easily take guys like Derrick White and Bruce Brown over him becasue atleast they can do multiple things on a very good level.

Reaves averaged 13/3/3 in 29 minutes for the season and did 18/3/6 in 31 minutes in the last 22 games of the season, I'm not sure 17/5 is considered a high feat for players who already put up those kinds of numbers.

[AleksandarN]

Steph, Ja, Booker, SGA, Ant, Fox, Dame, Kyrie, Luka.

No, I don’t think so.

And Jamal

[zimpy27]

Steph, Ja, Booker, SGA, Ant, Fox, Dame, Kyrie, Luka.

No, I don’t think so.

And Jamal

Curry, Jamal, SGA, Booker, Fox, Ant

Luka will be a forward and I don't think Kyrie makes it.
Lillard is likely in the East.
Ja won't play enough games early.

If a couple of those 6 get injured then I think there's an opening for Reaves if he can put up 20/4/4 on 60+ TS

[MoneyTalks41890]

Steph, Ja, Booker, SGA, Ant, Fox, Dame, Kyrie, Luka.

No, I don’t think so.

And Jamal

Curry, Jamal, SGA, Booker, Fox, Ant

Luka will be a forward and I don't think Kyrie makes it.
Lillard is likely in the East.
Ja won't play enough games early.

If one of those 6 get injured then I think there's an opening for Reaves if he can put up 20/4/4 on 60+ TS

Did they change how they do it? Last year it was guards and forwards and Luka went in as a guard.

[zimpy27]

And Jamal

Curry, Jamal, SGA, Booker, Fox, Ant

Luka will be a forward and I don't think Kyrie makes it.
Lillard is likely in the East.
Ja won't play enough games early.

If one of those 6 get injured then I think there's an opening for Reaves if he can put up 20/4/4 on 60+ TS

Did they change how they do it? Last year it was guards and forwards and Luka went in as a guard.

Sort of.

Zion and Curry injuries were replaced by Fox and Edwards.

West had Ja, Luka, Fox, Edwards, SGA, Lillard

That's 6 guards when you're really only meant to have 5. Swapping Zion for a guard was possible because Luka qualifies as a guard and as a forward.

[GreatWhiteStiff]

So the 2 (yes amazing, two whole games) he has played in the tournament mean that much?

Why not Schroeder and Hollis-Jefferson and co?

The box score vs Greece flattered him. Did you actually watch it?

He was out of control, turned the ball over, tried to turn regular passes into cringey no lookers and got phantom foul trips to the line.

He is trying way too hard to fit in and the real stars around him don’t seem to enjoy it from what body language suggests.

Who gives a **** about what you think about the body language of real stars around Austin Reaves? What a cringe internet comment.

[EArl]

If he was in the east maybe. Definitely not in the west though unless he really breaks out and some players get hurt.

[Onlytimewilltel]

West is still too stacked at his position so will never happen.

“West is still stacked at his position so it will NEVER happen” u so smart

And according to you Jordan Clarkson was considered a star until this tournament

[Dan Z]

I just looked up his Wikipedia page. I had no idea that the Pistons drafted him at 42, but he turned them down to sign a two-way contract with LA. Great find by their scouts/GM.

I never heard of a player being drafted and declining it.

[One Last Shot]

I just looked up his Wikipedia page. I had no idea that the Pistons drafted him at 42, but he turned them down to sign a two-way contract with LA. Great find by their scouts/GM.

I never heard of a player being drafted and declining it.

The thing is they didn't drafted him. They wanted to but Reaves told Pistons not to draft him, instead Detroit selected Isaiah Livers at 42nd pick. If they did, AR won't play in Lakers in his rookie year unless they traded for him because Pistons will own his draft rights.

Read on Twitter

[zimpy27]

I just looked up his Wikipedia page. I had no idea that the Pistons drafted him at 42, but he turned them down to sign a two-way contract with LA. Great find by their scouts/GM.

I never heard of a player being drafted and declining it.

The thing is they didn't drafted him. They wanted to but Reaves told Pistons not to draft him, instead Detroit selected Isaiah Livers at 42nd pick. If they did, AR won't play in Lakers in his rookie year unless they traded for him because Pistons will own his draft rights.

Read on Twitter

Lakers only had 6 players on their roster at the time so yeah, he saw it as a big opportunity to get exposure. Malik Monk thought the same that offseason.

Pistons were already deep at PG-SG

[Lakerland247]

I rather he be a candidate for DPOY than an Allstar.

[TheBullsDynasty]

It's like half of the comments in this thread are from people who never watched Reaves play.

The guy put up 16.9 ppg on 61.6% TS along with 4.6 apg 4.4 rpg in 16 games during the playoffs including 21.3 ppg 5.3 apg against the Nuggets in the WCF. He was Lakers 2nd best player in some of their playoff games in his first playoffs... Come on man.

Eye test tells us that even though he is not a star, he can do so many things at a high level. He can shoot, handle the ball, score in isolation, create for others, draw fouls, plays good enough defence. He also has the intangibles. He is smart, understands the game, makes good decisions, and plays hard.

Will he be an all-star next year? Highly unlikely but there's no reason why he can't be an all-star in the future if he keeps improving.

The only argument against him right now is that maybe he wasn't on teams' scouting report so they weren't "prepared" for him. Though I don't know if that makes much sense since he put up 17.6 ppg on insane 73.4% TS and 5.5 apg in 23 games post all-star game. Then followed that up with a very strong playoff run. That's 39 games. Not a huge sample size but definitely enough to make you think that this is not a fluke.

We'll find out the full truth this year. If he can keep up this level of play, then 20/5/5 is easily doable for him. He might even do that this upcoming season. Heck, I'd argue that he has shown such great potential that even 25/5/5 is achievable for him in the future if he keeps improving.

Full honesty, I thought initially Reaves was just a Lakers hype product like THT, but the more I watched him the more I liked his game, and I started believing after seeing what he can do in the playoffs. Consider me a fan.

[benhillboy]

It's like half of the comments in this thread are from people who never watched Reaves play.

The guy put up 16.9 ppg on 61.6% TS along with 4.6 apg 4.4 rpg in 16 games during the playoffs including 21.3 ppg 5.3 apg against the Nuggets in the WCF. He was Lakers 2nd best player in some of their playoff games in his first playoffs... Come on man.

Eye test tells us that even though he is not a star, he can do so many things at a high level. He can shoot, handle the ball, score in isolation, create for others, draw fouls, plays good enough defence. He also has the intangibles. He is smart, understands the game, makes good decisions, and plays hard.

Will he be an all-star next year? Highly unlikely but there's no reason why he can't be an all-star in the future if he keeps improving.

The only argument against him right now is that maybe he wasn't on teams' scouting report so they weren't "prepared" for him. Though I don't know if that makes much sense since he put up 17.6 ppg on insane 73.4% TS and 5.5 apg in 23 games post all-star game. Then followed that up with a very strong playoff run. That's 39 games. Not a huge sample size but definitely enough to make you think that this is not a fluke.

We'll find out the full truth this year. If he can keep up this level of play, then 20/5/5 is easily doable for him. He might even do that this upcoming season. Heck, I'd argue that he has shown such great potential that even 25/5/5 is achievable for him in the future if he keeps improving.

Full honesty, I thought initially Reaves was just a Lakers hype product like THT, but the more I watched him the more I liked his game, and I started believing after seeing what he can do in the playoffs. Consider me a fan.

Real fans can totally extract “hype” from their evaluation of a player. He gives me poor man Ginobili vibes, could fit with any team/ style.

[MarcusBrody]

It's like half of the comments in this thread are from people who never watched Reaves play.

The guy put up 16.9 ppg on 61.6% TS along with 4.6 apg 4.4 rpg in 16 games during the playoffs including 21.3 ppg 5.3 apg against the Nuggets in the WCF. He was Lakers 2nd best player in some of their playoff games in his first playoffs... Come on man.

Eye test tells us that even though he is not a star, he can do so many things at a high level. He can shoot, handle the ball, score in isolation, create for others, draw fouls, plays good enough defence. He also has the intangibles. He is smart, understands the game, makes good decisions, and plays hard.

Will he be an all-star next year? Highly unlikely but there's no reason why he can't be an all-star in the future if he keeps improving.

The only argument against him right now is that maybe he wasn't on teams' scouting report so they weren't "prepared" for him. Though I don't know if that makes much sense since he put up 17.6 ppg on insane 73.4% TS and 5.5 apg in 23 games post all-star game. Then followed that up with a very strong playoff run. That's 39 games. Not a huge sample size but definitely enough to make you think that this is not a fluke.

We'll find out the full truth this year. If he can keep up this level of play, then 20/5/5 is easily doable for him. He might even do that this upcoming season. Heck, I'd argue that he has shown such great potential that even 25/5/5 is achievable for him in the future if he keeps improving.

Full honesty, I thought initially Reaves was just a Lakers hype product like THT, but the more I watched him the more I liked his game, and I started believing after seeing what he can do in the playoffs. Consider me a fan.

I watched Reeves a good deal and think that he is a really solid player. Everything you say about his qualities I agree with. Absolutely a guy who any team would like to have. And obviously playing on the Lakers gives him a boost for the fan voting.

That being said, I don't think most people arguing against him being an All Star are saying that he isn't a good player. Just that there is a log jam of guard talent in the west. Jamal Murray has never been an All Star. He did miss a year with his ACL, but he was averaging 21 a game on 59% TS that year after having just scorched the Bubble, and he didn't sniff the All Star game (he was 12th on the Western Backcourt list). Last year, he was even lower (though to be fair, he did start slowly). And Murray has looked ilke he is a solid 1b in the playoffs alongside the best player on earth. The West just has really good guard depth. Think of those years that prime Damian Lilliard was pouting because he didn't make it.

Now, I do think that the generational turnover is going to help him. Curry is a lock as long as he plays, but will retire at some point while Reeves is still in his prime. Chris Paul has already fallen off. Dame likely will (or be traded to the East) within Reeves' timeline.

So his roadblocks are:
Luka
SGA
Booker
Ant
De'Aaron Fox
Murray
Ja ( a year I could have considered him an absolute lock, now he'll likely miss this year, but I think he turns it around)


It was his first real run this year, but Reeves is 25 already. Even Murray and Booker are only 26 and everyone else is younger. He may improve more due to having less experience, but those guys all have a decent lead on him and aren't any older. They're also all the focal point player on their team (save Murray), and All Star teams always seem to reward that.

Austin Reeves strikes me as topping out as an Aaron Gordon-level player (level-wise, their games are obviously nothing alike). They are smart, hardworking, versatile players who do a whole bunch of things to help their teams win without being overwhelming in any one of them. Gordon was just the third best player on a good championship team. That's a really good player. But because they aren't going to be the focal point and because they do many things well rather than one thing transcendently, they're not going to get as much All Star attention as the guys on the list above.

I do think Reaves has a chance - largely because he's on the Lakers - but I think it's pretty low for the reasons I mentioned even though I totally respect him as a player.

[Noctilux]

It's like half of the comments in this thread are from people who never watched Reaves play.

The guy put up 16.9 ppg on 61.6% TS along with 4.6 apg 4.4 rpg in 16 games during the playoffs including 21.3 ppg 5.3 apg against the Nuggets in the WCF. He was Lakers 2nd best player in some of their playoff games in his first playoffs... Come on man.

Eye test tells us that even though he is not a star, he can do so many things at a high level. He can shoot, handle the ball, score in isolation, create for others, draw fouls, plays good enough defence. He also has the intangibles. He is smart, understands the game, makes good decisions, and plays hard.

Will he be an all-star next year? Highly unlikely but there's no reason why he can't be an all-star in the future if he keeps improving.

The only argument against him right now is that maybe he wasn't on teams' scouting report so they weren't "prepared" for him. Though I don't know if that makes much sense since he put up 17.6 ppg on insane 73.4% TS and 5.5 apg in 23 games post all-star game. Then followed that up with a very strong playoff run. That's 39 games. Not a huge sample size but definitely enough to make you think that this is not a fluke.

We'll find out the full truth this year. If he can keep up this level of play, then 20/5/5 is easily doable for him. He might even do that this upcoming season. Heck, I'd argue that he has shown such great potential that even 25/5/5 is achievable for him in the future if he keeps improving.

Full honesty, I thought initially Reaves was just a Lakers hype product like THT, but the more I watched him the more I liked his game, and I started believing after seeing what he can do in the playoffs. Consider me a fan.

Real fans can totally extract “hype” from their evaluation of a player. He gives me poor man Ginobili vibes, could fit with any team/ style.

Manu Ginobili was a poor mans Manu Ginobili at Austin's age.

[sisibilio]

Manu Ginobili was a poor mans Manu Ginobili at Austin's age.

This. Manu didn't become a star until his 3rd NBA season when he had already turned 27.

[Triple7]

Reaves is a good role player. Lets not over hype the guy. He’s probably the 4th best player in his team. No chance in hell the lakers get 3 or 4 all stars spot. A big NO for Reaves.

[HMFFL]

Will he even average 10 field goal attempts per game during the upcoming season? The 7.7 last season was his highest in two season.

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