Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is proving himself to be one of the NBA's best third options this season. The fourth-year guard is averaging 19.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting with six assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Reaves has two games with 30 or more points in March, as well as two 28-point outings. The Oklahoma alum supported LeBron James and Anthony Davis earlier in the season before the Lakers swapped Davis for Luka Doncic. Now, he's supporting James and the former Dallas Maverick.
Reaves missed the Lakers' 118-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday with an ankle injury, but the ailment was minor.
The 26-year-old is available for Los Angeles' home date with the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
"Luka Doncic (R ankle), Dorian Finney-Smith (L ankle), Rui Hachimura (L patellar tendinopathy), Austin Reaves (R ankle), Jarred Vanderbilt (R groin) and Gabe Vincent (L knee) have been upgraded to available tonight, per the Lakers," he reported.
Luka Dončić (R ankle), Dorian Finney-Smith (L ankle), Rui Hachimura (L patellar tendinopathy), Austin Reaves (R ankle), Jarred Vanderbilt (R groin) and Gabe Vincent (L knee) have been upgraded to available tonight, per the Lakers https://t.co/aOEvo7v1BB
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 23, 2025
Doncic and Hachimura were also out against the Bucks, as the latter player has missed the last 12 games.
The Lakers (43-26) are healing at the right time, as they are embroiled in a tight Western Conference race. They're two games behind the Houston Rockets (46-25) for second place and are tied with the Denver Nuggets (44-27) in third. They're also just one game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies (43-28) and 2.5 ahead of the Golden State Warriors (41-29).
Los Angeles visits the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers after Saturday's bout with the Bulls.
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This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM.