Since the Los Angeles Lakers overhauled their roster at the trade deadline, they’ve gone 12-7, which is one of the best records in the NBA during that time. The new players have helped greatly, however, the Lakers can attribute a large share of their success lately to one of the few players to return to the team from last season: Austin Reaves.
Reaves, who continues to pay dividends for both the team and fans who bought stock in him during his 2021-22 rookie season, has scored 15.7 points per game since the deadline, standing out lately as arguably the Lakers’ second-best player with LeBron James out.