NBA Player Reacts to Jordan Poole vs. Austin Reaves Debate

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves or Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole?

Both important young guards for their respective teams, Austin Reaves vs. Jordan Poole is often a go-to debate for NBA fans and even NBA players. During a recent podcast episode, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers shared a nuanced take on the debate.

"I love Austin Reaves," Rivers said. "I love his talent. His best skill is how aggressive he is as a player... He's aggressive. He attacks. I love it. And he competes. His skill level is not the same as Jordan Poole's. It's not even in the same realm... If you're talking skill level for skill level, they're not even in the same - and again, I say this as an Austin Reaves fan, I like his game. He's nowhere near Jordan Poole."

Who would you rather have on your team in the long term: Austin Reaves or Jordan Poole?@AustinRivers25 and @paush discuss this and more on the latest #OffGuard. pic.twitter.com/iyHosGe9DZ

— RingerNBA (@ringernba) May 22, 2023

Rivers continued, saying there is another half of this discussion outside of skill. Rivers said that whatever Reaves may lack in skill level, he makes up for in how hard he plays on both ends, his ability to fit on any team, his foul-drawing ability, his efficiency, and several other things. 

It was a nuanced take from Rivers, who acknowledged that Poole has more talent than Reaves, but the Warriors guard is often so erratic that it can limit his effectiveness, whereas Reaves is much more steady.

With the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, this already prevalent debate became even more interesting.

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