Austin Reaves named top 75 player in NBA by ESPN
LOS ANGELES (KAIT) - Cedar Ridge alum Austin Reaves is starting to rack up preseason accolades ahead of the NBA season.
Reaves, who scored 18 points in 20 minutes in his preseason debut Monday night, was named a top 75 player in the NBA in ESPN’s NBArank, checking in at #66. Fellow Arkansas native Bobby Portis is #81 on the list.
“Reaves was Team USA’s second-leading scorer on 57/50/95 shooting splits while ranking third in assists and third in steals,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said. “We’ve seen plenty of players parlay stars-and-stripes service into a leap the following season -- Reaves could be the next name on that list.”
The Newark native had an offseason full of headlines after his breakout NBA campaign where Reaves averaged 17 points and 5 assists a game in the NBA Playoffs. The 25-year-old was a fixture on Team USA, averaging 14 points per game in the FIBA World Cup. Before that, he signed a four-year, $56 million extension to stay in Los Angeles and received his first signature shoe.
Reaves currently has the fourth-best betting odds to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award this season.
Austin and the Lakers will open regular season play at Denver on Tuesday, October 24. They’ll play in Memphis on Wednesday, March 27 at 7:00 p.m. (CT) and on Friday, April 12 at 7:00 p.m. (CT).
