The Los Angeles Lakers aren't having a very good 2022-23 campaign, but one bright spot for them on the season has been the continued development of Austin Reaves. Reaves has found a consistent role in the Lakers rotation, and has taken a nice step forward in his second season as part of L.A.'s backcourt (10.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 48.8 FG%).
Reaves isn't the first player to unexpectedly find a role for themselves in the Lakers backcourt, and due to their somewhat similar starts, Reaves often finds himself getting compared to Alex Caruso, who is now on the Chicago Bulls, quite often. Caruso became a key piece of the Lakers rotation out of nowhere, but when asked about the comparisons to him, Reaves said he doesn't exactly see many similarities between the two, aside from one key feature.
“Totally different players, but we’re guys that played on the Lakers, and we’re white. We don’t really look athletic. He’s athletic, but I’m not that athletic. I can see why people do it, but we’re two totally different players.” – Austin Reaves, HoopsHype
This is a pretty hilarious response from Reaves, and it likely is the reason he draws so many comparisons to the former Lakers guard. In terms of playstyle, the two are pretty different, but the two similarities Reaves notes are that they both played for the Lakers, and they are both white. After that, the similarities between the two pretty much end there. Maybe this will put an end to the comparisons, but chances are Reaves will continue to have to deal with comparisons to Caruso despite their notable differences.
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