Lakers Guard Cracks the Top 75 in ESPN's Annual NBA Player Rankings

A starting Los Angeles Lakers guard comes in at No. 72 in ESPN's latest annual player rankings.

Mar 19, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) and guard D'Angelo Russell (1) celebrate against the Orlando Magic in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With the 2024-25 NBA season approaching, ESPN released its annual top 100 player ratings. More often than not, a Laker or two appears on the list. 

This year, two of the Lakers superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, will likely crack the list and come in at least among the top 20. Expect that to happen again this year. However, they won't be the only Lakers to make the list. In fact, another one of their key players cracked the top 75: fourth-year shooting guard Austin Reaves, who comes in at No. 72. 

Last year, Reaves was No. 66. 

Coming off an arduous summer playing for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup, Reaves took some time to find his groove last season after bursting onto the scene in the 2023 playoffs. His slight slip in NBA Rank mirrors his shooting efficiency from Year 2 (52.9% from the field and 39.8% from 3) to Year 3 (48.6%/36.7%) and L.A.’s abbreviated postseason run after being ousted in the first round, but it fails to recognize Reave’s improvement as a playmaker and credit him for playing all 82 games. He should be back on the climb after this season.

- Dave McMenamin

Reaves had a slow start to the 2023-24 season, averaging just 13.1 points on 41.6 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from three in the first eight games of the year. Many assume it was fatigue from playing for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup during the summer of 2023.

However, he picked up the pace and averaged 16.4 points and 5.9 assists on 49.2 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc in the last 48 games of the regular season. Reaves proved to be one of the top four best players for the Lakers, and he will look to do the same thing this season. 

Head coach JJ Redick is a big fan of his new starting shooting guard. He has praised Reaves from the minute he was hired, and he expects a lot of great things from him this season. 

He is not alone in that boat. Many outsiders and fans expect great things from Reaves, and they must if the Lakers want to be considered the elite of the elite in the NBA this season. 

Reaves is ahead of players like Zach LaVine (No. 74), Jaden McDaniels (No. 77), Jerami Grant (No. 80), and Naz Reid (No. 87). 

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