Danny Green isn’t sold on Austin Reaves as a true second option for a contender.
The former Lakers champion, speaking on the latest episode of Gil’s Arena, said Reaves has climbed a long way but still belongs in the No. 3 spot on a team with real title aspirations.
“I don’t think he is a No. 2,” Green said.
“In today’s NBA, I think he’s a No. 3… In today’s league, your big has to be either one or two because of how [Nikola] Jokic, [Victor Wembanyama], Joel [Embiid]…those guys that you have to match up with.
And your guards, [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander], [Jalen] Brunson, like you need your No. 1 to be either one of those guys and No. 2, one of those guys on the wing.
“Now, if you’re special like Kyrie [Irving], maybe, but I think Austin, on a contending team, he has to be your No. 3,” Green added.
Green’s view comes with the perspective of someone who won a championship with the Lakers in 2020, and his point centered less on Reaves’ talent than on whether that skill set fits the demands of the league’s highest level.
Reaves has put up strong numbers this season, averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26. He opened the year on a tear, scoring 27.8 points per game across his first 21 contests before injuries slowed him down.
For the Lakers, a healthy Reaves looks more than capable of serving as a reliable second scoring option behind Luka Doncic during the regular season. The playoff question is where the doubts start to creep in.
That’s the part Green keeps coming back to.
“The biggest issue is the last two postseasons that he hasn’t performed like the one he did in Memphis,” Green said. “So, when he proves that to be like a lights, camera, action, ready guy in the playoffs, again, he ain’t running from smoke.”
Reaves’ postseason reputation was built early, when he exploded for 14 points in the fourth quarter of his playoff debut against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 16, 2023, helping lift the Lakers to a win. Since then, the results have been less consistent.
Across his playoff career, Reaves has averaged 17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. The roughest stretch came in 2025, when the Minnesota Timberwolves sent the Lakers home in five games and Reaves averaged 16.2 points while shooting just 41.1% from the field.
In 2026, he was better, though not spotless. Reaves averaged 20.0 points on 40.7% shooting from the field, and he was playing through a grade 2 left oblique strain. He also closed that run with a strong three-game finish against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals, putting up 25.0 points per game on 51.1% shooting.
There’s still plenty to like about where Reaves is headed. The Lakers made that clear this offseason when they gave him a four-year, $180 million deal.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations and general manager, believes Reaves will keep growing as both a player and a leader. The organization has already bet big on that idea, and now the next step is seeing how he handles a larger role and the pressure that comes with it.
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