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Austin Reaves showed flashes of brilliance during the 2024–25 regular season, but when the lights got brighter in the postseason, his impact dipped. His numbers fell to 16.2 points per game on 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 31.9 percent from beyond the arc, with just 3.6 assists per night, a noticeable drop from his regular-season production.
The Lakers’ first-round exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves exposed some of those flaws. Minnesota threw wave after wave of tough defenders at Reaves, and the 26-year-old struggled to adjust. Former NBA forward and current analyst Richard Jefferson believes that needs to change if Los Angeles wants to make a deeper run next year.
“So for the Lakers, if the Lakers are healthy, then it’s Deandre Ayton and Reaves have to play well,” Jefferson said on The Sports Reporters. “And don’t forget Reaves is a very good player — borderline All-Star. But once he got against those dog defenders that you’re going to see every round of the postseason — you’re going to see dog defenders — now all of a sudden, Austin Reaves looked like he regressed back to a 15-, 16-point a game type of player, which is a compliment.
“So, can he make that jump where he’s a 20-point-a-game scorer versus all of the dogs? That’s when you become a different man. And that’s what they need from him and that’s what they need from Ayton,” he added.
The Lakers are banking on Reaves’ continued growth heading into the 2025–26 season. He’s improved his scoring and playmaking every year of his young career, but as Jefferson pointed out, the next step comes in the postseason.
If Los Angeles wants to compete for a title, Reaves will need to prove he can rise above those “dog defenders”, the kind that separate regular-season players from playoff stars.
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