- Fifth-year pro Austin Reaves just got thrust into the national NBA spotlight after the undrafted vet dropped 51 points.
- Reaves’ career effective field goal percentage is .571.
- Reaves has the skills necessary to take over any game he’s in. After all, he’s scored at least 30 on numerous occasions throughout his career.
Fifth-year pro Austin Reaves just got thrust into the national NBA spotlight after the undrafted vet dropped 51 points on the Sacramento Kings in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 127-120 win.
On a team that features both Luka Doncic and LeBron James − although the latter is currently injured − Reaves has established himself as a high-end third scoring option on one of the NBA’s most storied franchises. His 51-point performance was already the third 50-point game of the NBA season (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Aaron Gordon), but Reaves’ felt different.
SGA is the reigning league MVP, fresh off an NBA title and Finals MVP as well. Gordon is a former top-five draft pick who played a pivotal role in Denver’s 2023 championship run. Reaves was undrafted, and before 2025, his career high was 35 points.
You may not have known about Reaves before Sunday night’s game, but NBA fans have had this man on their radar for quite some time, and last night likely won’t be his last 50 piece.
Austin Reaves’ efficiency
Reaves is a shooter. After all, one of his more popular nicknames is literally a firearm. However, just because someone can hit shots doesn’t mean they have the potential to drop a 50-burger, right?
Sure, the best shooters of all-time can. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, Reggie Miller and many of the league’s best all-time shooters have done so. Many of them have even done it on multiple occasions. You probably think Reaves doesn’t fit into that category. Think again.
In terms of efficiency, Reaves is one of the best. He quietly put up over 20 points per game a season ago, which may not seem like a big accomplishment, but let’s dive a little deeper, shall we?
Reaves averaged 20.2 points per game, which ranked 34th in the NBA. He did this on just 14.2 field goal attempts per game. Among all guards who ranked in the top 50 in the NBA in scoring a season ago, only Tyrese Haliburton (18.6 PPG on 13.8 FGA) and Collin Sexton (18.4 PPG on 13.8 FGA) attempted fewer shots. And both of them averaged over 1.5 points fewer per game than Reaves. Reaves has always done a lot with what he’s been given, and no stat displays that better than effective field goal percentage (eFG%).
Effective field goal percentage
Effective field goal percentage is a statistic meant to more effectively represent a player’s field goal percentage based on the types of shots they take. For example, a three-pointer is worth 1.5 times a two-pointer, and eFG% takes that into account. The formula is as follows:
- (2-pt FGM + 1.5*3-pt FGM) / FGA
For reference, anything over .400 for guards is considered solid. Anything over .450 is considered good. And anything over .500 is considered excellent. Obviously, the volume of shots will play a factor, but we’ll get into that in a moment.
Reaves’ career eFG% is .571. For context, Steph Curry’s is .582. Kevin Durant’s is .554. LeBron James’ is .548. Luka Doncic’s is .542. James Harden’s is .525. Anthony Edwards’ is .524.
Now the obvious difference is that Reaves hasn’t taken as many shots as those other players. If he was forced to take more shots, he wouldn’t have such great efficiency stats, right? Well, let’s not be too hasty.
For his career, Austin Reaves has had 90 games in which he has attempted at least 13 field goals. His eFG% was higher than .400 in 76 of those games. That’s right. He’s only had 14 career games where he was subpar as a high-volume shooter.
Last year, Luka Doncic had 49 games with at least 13 field goal attempts. Nine of those saw him post an eFG% under .400. Anthony Edwards had 14 such games in 73 contests with at least 13 field goal attempts last year.
Those are two of the most well-renowned scoring guards in the NBA, and in terms of efficiency, Reaves is right there with them for his career. His efficiency hasn’t dropped much at all as his role with the Lakers has increased.
Reaves’ outlook
It’s clear the Lakers want to increase Reaves’ role in the team’s offense. His field goal attempts and minutes played have increased every season he’s been in the league, and to that measure, so have his point totals.
Furthermore, with the NBA’s new ‘hot-stove’ contact rule, where fouls are called if a defender hits a shooter’s arm after the ball has been released, Reaves could see much more of the charity stripe as well, further enabling his scoring potential. While it has only been three games, he’s already averaging 12.3 free throw attempts per game this season, more than double his previous career-high (5.0). Albeit, he took 22 in his 50-point game last night, and that won’t happen every third game.
That said, even without taking a plethora of free throws, Reaves has the skills necessary to take over any game he’s in. After all, he’s scored at least 30 on numerous occasions throughout his career. 14 times to be exact. Is it that much of a leap to say that with the new rules, increased role and LeBron James’ impending retirement, Reaves won’t be able to score 50 again? No.
The man is only 27 years old, entering his prime. And if Tony Delk can hit 50, why can’t Austin Reaves do it again?