LOS ANGELES – While the Los Angeles Lakers formed a new star duo, pairing LeBron James with Luka Doncic following a shocking NBA trade deadline, it's possible that the team actually has a star trio. Fourth-year guard Austin Reaves is in the midst of a breakout season for the Lakers, and at times has looked like the best player on the court alongside James and Doncic.

During the Lakers' most recent win against the New Orleans Pelicans, Reaves was second on the team in scoring with 30 points, behind only Doncic. Following the win, Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke about the key areas of Reaves' development that's allowed him to have a big year so far.

“I think he's playing with a very high level of confidence right now, and I think the freedom that he's played with for most of the season, if not all of the season, has just allowed him to grow,” JJ Redick said. I think he continues to develop patience for when things aren't happening early for him, and just knowing that he's gonna end up with 15-20 shots. That's just the way our team is structured.”

Against the Pelicans, Austin Reaves etched his name into Lakers history by reaching the second-most three-pointers in a season behind only Nick Van Exel.

Austin Reaves' breakout season for Lakers

When the Lakers first acquired Reaves, every single team in the NBA had passed him over. He had gone undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft, and the Lakers signed him to a two-way contract. He ultimately outplayed that contract and it was converted to a standard deal.

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Reaves' role on the team has grown each season, culminating with this year when the team essentially chose him as the point guard of the future following D'Angelo Russell's move to the bench and subsequent trade.

His numbers are up across the board; he's taking career-highs in shot attempts with 14.3 from the field and 7.3 from the three-point line. His minutes are a career-best too at a little over 35 per game. He's started all 69 games he's played in as compared to the past couple of seasons when former head coach Darvin Ham kept tinkering with the lineups.

Overall, Reaves is averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 45.8 percent shooting from the field, 37.2 percent shooting from the three-point line and 88.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line. He's dropped at least 30 points in four of the Lakers' last five games.

As the team continues their quest for playoff positioning in the Western Conference, it's clear that Reaves is going to be key for whatever postseason success the Lakers hope to have.