LeBron James had a very interesting take on Austin Reaves’ development after Reaves had a huge game in the Los Angeles Lakers’ win Sunday.
Reaves took over for the Lakers in the second half, scoring 23 points in a 128-112 win over Memphis. Reaves’ output included a pair of key dagger shots in the waning minutes of the game as the Lakers closed on a 15-0 run.
Reaves seemingly came out of nowhere for the Lakers, but James said former coach Frank Vogel deserves a lot of credit for the growth of the second-year guard. According to James, Vogel helped Reaves’ development by “throwing him into the fire and letting him learn on the fly.”
LeBron James credits Frank Vogel for Austin Reaves development for "throwing him into the fire and letting him learn on the fly."
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) April 16, 2023
James has a reputation as a coach-killer, so it is interesting to see him praising someone who got fired at the end of last season. He is also not one to patiently nurture young players at this stage of his career, so it’s also notable to see him praising a coach for letting one such player work through on-court mistakes.
Many of Vogel’s issues in his final season as Lakers coach were in relation to another player, not James. Still, it reads like a pretty solid endorsement for a coach who appears eager to get back on the sidelines somewhere.
