The Los Angeles Lakers were up two with more than four minutes left in game one of the playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies. Each possession left fans all the more mesmerized as Austin Reaves put on a clinic with stupendous passing and clutch shot making. All in all, Reaves wound up scoring nine points over a two minute stretch to give the Lakers a comfortable victory which helped put him on the national stage.

The moment may not have surprised fans in Los Angeles, but it put a spotlight on the second year player and led to some interesting questions about his value around the league heading into a summer in which he’d be a free agent. Since he was a restricted free agent coming off of a two-way deal he qualified for the “Arenas provision”. This essentially capped what the Lakers could offer Reaves while allowing another team that had cap space to back load the third and fourth year of the deal. The Lakers would be able to match, but it put them in a vulnerable position.

Surprisingly no team made that offer so the Lakers and Reaves agreed on a four-year, $53.8 million contract with a fourth year player option. Now the team and player are ready to determine what exactly he is capable of doing.

One of the most astonishing stats during the season was the free throw rate of Reaves. During the last twenty games of the season Reaves totaled the 10th most free throw attempts in the entire NBA. It’s a testament to his shiftiness, studious film work and dedication to sacrificing his body that he was able to manufacture that many trips to the line. The numbers weren’t an anomaly, either.

During his last two seasons at Oklahoma he had one of the better free throw rates in the country, especially as a guard. He has been afforded more on-ball reps as time has gone on, and was given even more access to handling the rock during the end of the season when Russell Westbrook was traded and LeBron James was out with a foot injury.

Free throw rate is a major source of production and generating “free” points allows for Reaves to to buoy his efficiency to a point where he is knocking on the door of some serious thresholds. He was the best wing in the NBA at being able to draw fouls, according to Cleaning the Glass. A remarkable feat considering it was his second season in the NBA and that only two other non-bigs in the NBA were able to match his 20.7 figure.

He was only one of three players to blend a combination of that elite efficiency along with playmaking chops. Fair to say he’s in pretty good company with the like of Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant.

One of the bigger questions to ask of Reaves is how much more of an offensive load can he absorb? His usage rate did tick up throughout the year, but he ultimately finished the season with a 16.6 mark. The team doesn’t necessarily need him to do more with Anthony Davis and James on the team, but for his own development it’s interesting to wonder whether it’s an actual possibility. His scorching hot end to the season was partially based around a usage rate that leaned close to 20 and that may need to continue as James continues to age.

The patented Jeff Van Gundy phrase of “be a star in your role” is more than applicable to Reaves and what he has done for the Lakers. Looking through the roster it’s fair to wonder how much of the offensive pie will be leftover for Reaves to cut into. D’Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura are all players that had at least his level of usage rating last season. Seeing how Darvin Ham plans to deploy those weapons will be of much interest to fans, especially after last year’s playoff run.

The versatility that Reaves has displayed makes it easier to envision him as a piece to fit on starting units, and possibly even the 3rd best player on a championship team. His ability to handle the ball, shoot, draw fouls, and move without the ball makes him the modern day embodiment of what all teams are looking for: a player that can do everything without taking anything off the table.

The general defensive metrics don’t jump off the page when evaluating Reaves. His steal rate sits at an abhorrent .7 mark while his block percentage is pedestrian for his position. The FiveThirtyEight defensive metric called RAPTOR places him as the 14th best defensive forward in the NBA and the second best Laker, though.

His effort jumps off the page as he fights over screens and uses his body to create legal guarding contact with opposing players. Guards are generally able to beat him off the dribble, but he has enough physicality that he can stay with the play. He’s elite at drawing charges as he ranked 9th in the NBA in the stat during the regular season. It’s unsurprising to see the scrappy 25-year-old rank so highly because of his constant willingness to put up 100 percent effort.

Reaves proved during the end of the season and throughout the playoffs that he can be an integral player on a quality team. The degree to which the Lakers choose to rely on him throughout the season will reveal how they view him and whether he is ready to carry the role of the 3rd best player on a championship-caliber team.