Austin Reaves beside Luka Dončić is a third-round pick, and the one build that drops him is a punt of assists

Austin Reaves enters the season as the second option on a Lakers team that has changed around him. LeBron James signed with Philadelphia in July, which ABC7 and Fox both reported along with the 76ers' announcement, and the Lakers acquired Walker Kessler from Utah in a sign-and-trade on July 1, as ESPN and NBC Sports reported. The Associated Press reported in June that Reaves would re-sign for four years and $185 million after declining his player option. That leaves him beside Luka Dončić as the only other high-volume creator in the rotation, with a rim-running center behind them.

The obvious expectation is that LeBron's 15.3 shots and 7.2 assists a game have to go somewhere, and that Reaves takes a large share. Our projection is more conservative than that: it moves his assists up and his scoring barely at all, and it ranks him 29th on our points board under ESPN's scoring and 25th on our 9-cat board, close to both consensus boards. This piece sets out the line, explains why he is worth more in categories than in ESPN points, and covers the one punt that makes him a poor fit.

Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.