Los Angeles Lakers star named one of NBA's most overrated players image
Apr 9, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) walks on to the court before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
A Los Angeles Lakers star was named one of the most overrated players in the NBA heading into the 2026-27 season.
The Lakers won't like it after rewarding him with an enormous contract this offseason, but that player is Austin Reaves.
Austin Reaves named one of the most overrated players in NBA
Reaves is a very good player, but now he's about to be paid like a bona fide superstar, and he's not quite on that level. As a result, Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley included Reaves on his list of the league's most overrated players.
"Here's the counter: Reaves is regarded (and now compensated) as a full-fledged star, but his production just doesn't paint him with that kind of brightness. He reads more like a good-to-very-good offensive player, and once that gets coupled with his disastrous defense, it adds up more to a strong support piece than an actual building block," Buckley wrote.
". . . Reaves' playoff tests have been rocky, too (40.9 percent shooting overall, 29.3 percent from range his last two trips). It really makes you question his ability to fill the sidekick role on a contender, which is exactly what the Lakers need and expect from him after exhausting their asset collection this summer."
Moving forward, Reaves will have an opportunity to prove that he was worth the investment on L.A's part, but with LeBron James now gone, if Reaves can't develop into a legitimate number two option alongside Luka Doncic, the Lakers could be in trouble.
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