Lakers News: Austin Reaves Enjoys Strong Start In Team USA's Blowout Win Over Puerto Rico

Even though Austin Reaves clearly showed that he has what it takes to compete against the best of teams in the 2023 playoffs with the Los Angeles Lakers, there have still been a number of doubters questioning whether he deserves all of the hype surrounding his name. This only continued when Reaves was named among the players added to Team USA's roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Even though the best of the best did not opt to suit up for Team USA this time around and head coach Steve Kerr was given a squad mostly headlined by some younger NBA stars such as Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges. Reaves took a different route to the league seeing that he signed with the Lakers as an undrafted free agent and also spent some time with their G-League squad.

However, those same critics questioning if he deserved his spot on Team USA's squad got to see his value in their recent match against Puerto Rico where he logged 19 minutes and went for nine points and four rebounds.

He immediately cashed in a corner three immediately after checking into the game and lived up to all of the positives that Kerr was highlighting about him. Reaves was allowed to isolate his defenders on a couple of plays and even though he struggled to make shots in the second half, he still took care of business in all other areas and played hard defense en route to USA's big win.

Give Austin Reaves his respect

(@swishcultures_ ) pic.twitter.com/uK2KLEqJ1T
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 8, 2023

In some Team USA practices leading up to this game, we did get to see the 25-year-old get some run at point guard and it'll be interesting to see if that comes into play over the course of the tournament with so many other ball-handlers.

One thing is for certain and that is that Reaves can play winning basketball with any group. Their next game on the 12th cannot come soon enough!

Are you following us on Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube yet? Join the conversation as we discuss the latest Lakers news and rumors with fans like you!