After a rocky start, the Los Angeles Lakers are already righting the ship. Following an uptick in play from Russell Westbrook, blistering shooting from Carmelo Anthony, age-defying theatrics from LeBron James, and All-NBA-caliber two-way ball from Anthony Davis, the Lakers have won five of six games.

Of course, it's not all fixed. The Lakers are still juggling rotations and have multiple injured pieces to eventually re-integrate. The defense remains far from stout (see: Rockets shooting 52.7% on Tuesday). But things are looking up.

That the Lakers are starting to figure it out should come as no surprise. The Lakers spent all of training camp expressing optimism that they would. However, there has been one pleasantly unforeseen development: the emergence of Austin Reaves. Though, in retrospect, maybe we shouldn't be surprised.

Reaves, a rookie out of Oklahoma, now-famously passed on the opportunity to be drafted in the second round in order to sign a two-way contract with the Lakers. (They brought him in for a pre-draft workout in July.) That decision has proven prudent: the Lakers have a wildly successful recent developmental track record, in part due to their established culture of winning and high expectations that, currently, trickles down from LeBron.

Reaves struggled with his shooting during Summer League, and his numbers were porous. Yet, based on the eye test, he was clearly the Lakers' best all-around player. His instinctual feel for the game — positioning, tempo, pass location, defensive fundamentals, etc. — was evident.

At the Lakers pre-training camp excursion to Las Vegas, Reaves seemingly impressed enough to earn one of the two remaining guaranteed roster spots.

Reaves continued to open eyes and cultivate instant-folk hero status during the preseason — and not just because of his epic nickname. He showed flashes of NBA readiness on both ends.

“I watched a lot of film on him when we drafted him, actually,” LeBron said after the preseason loss to the Golden State Warriors. I knew right away that he could be an NBA player and play at this level. His size, his shot-making ability, his pick-and-roll play, his passing, a high IQ kid. And he’s got a lot of dog in him, too, that translates to our game.”

Two weeks into the season, Reaves has already crashed the Lakers rotation (as me and my Lakers Multiverse co-host Cooper Halpern predicted he would.)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4p0UAjusshG4f2oEWj3xNw?si=8d09deb90fb841a8

However, I didn't think it would happen this fast. After not playing for the first seven quarters of the season — in which the Lakers' depleted wing rotation mightily struggled — Frank Vogel inserted HBK into the game with the Lakers down 20+ points to the Phoenix Suns. He immediately helped spark a momentum-building Lakers run.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yAYunBdQUc

By the next game — their first win of the season over the Memphis Grizzlies — Reaves was off the bench in the first quarter and seeing crunch-time minutes.

He's been a fourth-quarter staple ever since.

“He comes in and played extremely well, hit some shots,” Anthony Davis said last week. “(He) got hit in the face again. He plays through it. He is physical, tough. He is not scared of the moment. Any rookie can get scared in the moment — overtime, fourth quarter. The first time he has been through that in a close game as far as the NBA level. He stayed composed the entire time. He is definitely a guy we can use throughout the season.”

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Statistically, his traditional numbers won't tell the story (5.0 PPG, 33.3% 3-point shooting). But, he leads the Lakers in plus/minus, and his on/of figures are telling.

As was the case in Summer League — and for whom he's most often compared, Alex Caruso, another undrafted wing-turned folk hero-turned plus/minus lord — Reaves passes the eye test with flying colors.

He's become the Lakers' glue-guy and stabilizer — a key role for a completely revamped roster desperately. He's always in the right spot, keeps the ball moving, spaces the floor, and provides staunch perimeter defense for a team without a ton of resources in that department.

“He has been outstanding for us on both sides of the ball,” Vogel said. “Teams think that they can target him but he really moves his feet well, puts his body in front of the ball and plays with toughness and scraps in loose-ball situations. He just plays a scrappy brand. I think the poise he plays with offensively is very surprising for a rookie. (He has created a) few situations for us with his drive and kick, patience in the paint, finding someone else on a box out and facilitated a few possessions where we needed a bucket.”

Austin Reaves is here to stay, and the Lakers are better off for it. They also deserve a ton of credit.