Lakers News: Los Angeles Guard Rockets Up Pundit's Top NBA Player Rankings

His stock is only growing!

Even though it did not seem likely that Lakers starting shooting guard Austin Reaves could play on a bigger stage than he already does in the city of Los Angeles, he has been competing at an international level for Team USA during the 2023 FIBA World Cup and fans all around have been able to truly appreciate all the winning aspects of his game.

By no means is he the flashiest player or boast a basketball background with the most accolades or high school mixtapes, but Reaves has been able to prove that the Lakers taking a shot on an undrafted guard that spent five years in college was the right decision.

Therefore, his postseason averages of 17 points, four boards and four assists along with his ability to play both guard spots when needed has garnered the respect of basketball experts all around. The Athletic's Seth Partnow put together his annual NBA player tiers and he placed Reaves in 4B, an area that he describes as B-plus guards.

"The NBA is awash with backcourt talent right now. The flipside of there being so many good playmakers is that the level of competition is always high, especially in the postseason. This is a group that can compete with many of the best backcourt players in the league, but the goal is playing to a draw rather than expecting to create an edge."

(Via The Athletic)

Partnow placed Reaves next to other notable guards in the league such as Dejounte Murray, Tyrese Maxey and Fred Vanvleet.

LA is going to have the ball moving a ton this coming season with LeBron James & Anthony Davis obviously taking majority of the shots but returners in Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell will get their own along with some new faces.

It's been reported that Reaves' role in LA will only grow from here on out so we look forward to seeing him only rise in the rankings!

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