Austin Reaves credits himself for fighting through ‘tough’ situations, being benched
After a season of ups and downs with the Lakers, Austin Reaves spoke about fighting through the lows to get to the highs.
How should we look at Austin Reaves' season as a Laker?
He had some highs, like his 32-point performance against the Boston Celtics in a road win with LeBron James and Anthony Davis out and his 21 points in the Lakers' sole victory against the Denver Nuggets in Game 4.
His lows, however, include his on-ball defensive struggles and a bad start to the season that caused him to lose his starting spot. Reaves discussed that low point and how he was able to get through it during his exit interview.
"Before Game 15 this year, I was moved to the bench," Reaves said. "There was a lot of things that happened this year that you have to be mentally tough to get through. You have to fight your way through it. That's one thing I'll give myself credit for is I never folded. I never felt sorry for myself. Obviously, there's frustrations but I woke up every single day and went to work and tried to get better and tried to help our team win. That's all I care about is winning.
“Obviously, there's things that I can always do better to help us win but every single night I go out there on the court, that's my main goal is to win. At the end of this year, I can say that's what I did."
The decision to bench Reaves and D'Angelo Russell reportedly “did not sit well” with Lakers players. Given how well he played throughout the season, it perhaps would've been better to work through those changes with your best players.
Hindsight is 20/20, so maybe that's a harsh assessment of a Darvin Ham folly, but it's clear that Reaves is one of the five best players on the Lakers. And while he doesn't have the impact or importance of LeBron or Davis, he needs to play alongside them to give Los Angeles the best chance at success.
Despite Reaves' frustrations, or perhaps because of them, he had a career year.
He played all 82 regular-season games and had career highs in all categories, including points, rebounds, assists, and minutes played. In the playoffs, he increased his point production from 15.9 to 16.8.
A lot can happen in the summer, but Reaves has continuously improved as an NBA player season after season. He may have had to fight through tough and frustrating moments in 2024, but if he keeps on his current trajectory, 2025 should be his best year yet.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.