Austin Reaves has become not just one of the Los Angeles Lakers' biggest developmental success stories, he has also been one of the biggest success stories in the history of the NBA. To the uninitiated, Reaves, who is averaging 23.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists this season, went undrafted when he declared for the 2021 NBA Draft — and eventually the Lakers scooped him up and helped mold him into the player he is now.
Reaves wasted no time proving that he belonged in the league, as he played 61 games in his rookie season (even starting 19 games). The fact that he became a rotation player means that the Lakers already struck gold on Reaves. So for him to become a fringe All-Star talent makes it grand larceny that the Purple and Gold ended up with him as an undrafted free agent.
But for LeBron James, the answer as to why the Lakers were able to get him that way is simple.
“You know why [Reaves wasn't drafted]. You know why, you know how that s**t is. They look at him. Judge a book by his cover situation. I saw the talent. That guy that I’m seeing is, there’s no way he goes undrafted. Come on man,” James said on the Mind The Game podcast.
Lakers' Austin Reaves has his own explanation for draft slide
While James believes that Reaves' appearance had something to do with his draft slide, the Lakers guard explained it from a more rational perspective.
“I think the draft too is, you got your top 15 players or whatever the lottery is, and then after that I feel like teams just try to hit home runs. And my age I was 22 coming out,” Reaves said.
Teams don't usually bet on older rookies unless they're deemed to be a sure thing (no one in the draft is, anyway). So perhaps Reaves, being an older rookie, didn't draw too much attention because of that. But with how he's developed, teams are going to have to re-assess their draft strategy to avoid whiffing on another talent like him.
