The Los Angeles Lakers have one of the best problems in the NBA. The Lakers, more than most organizations in the sport, have such a wealth of all-time greats that it’s tough to distinguish exactly who is the organization's greatest player ever.
With the Lakers, it really comes down to a big three to four players. Depending on who you ask, it could be Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or possibly the logo Jerry West.
LeBron James, in many people's opinion, is the greatest NBA player of all time. With the bulk of his career coming outside of LA and only one championship with the organization, it’s tough to put him in the category for the greatest Laker of all time.
Luka Dončić certainly has the talent level to become the greatest Laker of all time, but the fact that he wasn’t drafted to the Lakers will be a hill to climb in the end.
More: Lakers' Luka Doncic makes NBA history not done since Warriors legend in 1966
There is a Laker currently on the roster, however, who’s not only close to Kobe Bryant statistically through five seasons, but eerily mirrors him.
Austin Reaves averaging numbers identical to Kobe Bryant
When the Lakers signed the undrafted guard out of Arkansas, quite literally nobody could have anticipated what we’ve come to witness over the last five seasons.
Due to injuries and the talent of a non-playoff team, Reaves was able to get on the floor in his rookie season, and he chose not to relinquish that opportunity.
Since then, Reaves has done nothing but steadily keep progressing further and further past the expectations anyone had for him.
More: Austin Reaves is averaging more points than who?
It’s certainly been a fun ride with Austin, but if you take a step back to admire his young career like a painting, you start to see the big picture. The brush strokes used look ridiculously similar to those that painted Kobe Bryant's illustrious career.
Kobe Bryant’s first 5 seasons in the league compared to Austin Reaves #Noticing #ImJustSaying pic.twitter.com/WqxplOrUEk
— 5𝙭 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕠 〰️ (@MANOMAGlC) November 29, 2025
The numbers, as you can see above, are oddly close, but year five is where it gets really strange. Obviously, Reaves’ sample size so far isn’t close to 82 games, but still. It’s weird.
They both averaged/are averaging 28.5 PPG and exactly 5.9 RPG. Reaves actually has the edge on Bryant in the assists department, averaging 6.7 APG to Kobe’s 5.0.
Someone on Twitter/X even referenced nine of Austin’s stat lines from this year, presenting them as Kobe stat lines from 2005. Twenty years later, and it’s genuinely a tough call as to who would be who.
Is it silly to compare the two players at this point in Reaves’ career, but if Austin had some rings under his belt, would it be? He’ll need to pick up many rings in order to ever be compared to the other Lakers greats.
But for now, all we need to know is that men lie, women lie, but the stats certainly do not lie. And Austin Reaves’ stats are putting him in an unreal stratosphere.
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