Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has become one of the breakout stars of the 2024-25 season. His ascension has been progressive and well-documented among Lakers fans, as Reaves has improved across each of his four NBA campaigns.
2024-25 has been a remarkable step forward for Reaves, primarily as a scorer—a development that has led to dominant team results.
Reaves is in the midst of a season during which he's on pace to set new career-best marks in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and three-point field goals made per game. It would mark the third consecutive season during which he's increased his averages in every one of those areas.
That's even more impressive when one considers the specifics of his averages at 18.8 points, 5.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.5 three-point field goals made per game.
For as impressive as those numbers are, they pale in comparison to the more specific details of his success. That includes an impressive 22 games during which Reaves has scored at least 20 points—already up from the 21 times he did so during the 2023-24 campaign.
Most significant of all is the fact that the Lakers are 19-3 when Reaves scores at least 20 points during the 2024-25 campaign.
Lakers are 19-3 when Austin Reaves scores 20+ points
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Reaves has become [one of the most important players](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-resolve-austin-reaves-dilemma-losing-home-court) on the Lakers' roster in 2024-25. A significant reason for that was his emergence as the team's de facto point guard after D'Angelo Russell was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith.
Reaves has certainly excelled, averaging 6.6 assists per game since Christmas Day and posting eight games with at least 10 dimes.
One simply can't overlook the Lakers posting a 19-3 record when Reaves scores at least 20 points. It's unavoidable how much better Los Angeles is when he's scoring at a high level, albeit with an acknowledgement of the fact that it's 10-4 when Reaves posts a minimum of eight assists.
Thankfully, the arrival of Luka Doncic has positioned Reaves to focus more on scoring and thus gift the Lakers their optimal approach to winning.
Doncic is one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA, but he's also a top-tier facilitator. He boasts a career average of 8.3 assists per game, including 8.7 since his second season, and averaged a career-best 9.8 in 2023-24.
With [LeBron James continuing to thrive](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-focus-lebron-james-crystal-clear-fans-love) as one of the greatest facilitators in NBA history, the Lakers now have one of the best playmaking combinations imaginable.
Reaves will continue to provide value as a playmaker, but he can now make scoring his primary focus. He can be less reluctant to shoot in favor of simply making the right play, and develop the aggressive streak that has consistently led to victories in 2024-25.
The Lakers may have planned for Reaves to be their point guard, but with Doncic in the mix, they can finally utilize their rising star to his full potential.