Lakers News: Darvin Ham Thinks LA Could Have Third All-Star Player This Year

Will the first two even be healthy enough to make the team?

Future Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis may not be the only LA starters competing for All-Star berths in 2023-24.

That's because it appears that Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is as confident as I am that freshly re-signed shooting guard Austin Reaves has that ceiling.

Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times reveals that Ham once again stressed, ahead of the team's first preseason game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, that the 6'5" third-year swingman out of Oklahoma had that potential, a point he's also made over the summer.

"It’s not as crazy of an outcome as you might think, though if the Lakers’ stars are healthy, getting a third All-Star will mean that a ton of stuff would’ve had to go right. Reaves should get even more opportunities with the basketball in his hands — his play as a point guard in an opening week scrimmage had people buzzing," Woike writes.

The Lakers will need to start off with a much better record than the 52.4% winning percentage LA notched in its 2022-23 (43-39) to earn an additional All-Star beyond James and Davis, though that seems entirely possible with this balanced and sensible roster. 

To be fair, Davis hasn't actually been named an All-Star since the 2020-21 season, more due to injury than any major decline in ability, although he has gotten a smidge worse on offense lately, and appears hellbent on reversing that trend this season. Davis is the most important two-way player on this team, James its offensive leader, and Reaves its sharp-shooting, deft-passing third banana. 

If Los Angeles appears safely en route to a 50+ win season and boasts a top-four record in the West, and Reaves is scoring at least 18 points per contest, he certainly has an outside chance to make the All-Star team this season, though it could be an uphill battle in a guard-heavy conference.

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