Lakers rookie Austin Reaves had an excellent season when you look at the full scope of the year, going from an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract, to one flashing enough promising signs in summer league and a preseason player’s only camp to earn a guaranteed contract, to getting spot minutes on a team with championship-aspirations (at the time, don’t flood my mentions please) to earning a starting role and now being considered a key role player for the franchise moving forward.
However, the season didn’t come without its bumps, particularly from late February to late March, when Reaves hit the proverbial “rookie wall” — for more on that in Austin’s own words, make sure to check out this superb piece from Jacob Rude — before later pushing through to finish the season strong, including becoming just the fifth Lakers rookie ever to put up triple-double.