Frank Vogel saw some of an NBA superstar when scouting Austin Reaves

Austin Reaves has become a reality in the NBA, he is currently playing his 3rd year in the league, but his former head coach, Frank Vogel, who recently faced off against this Thursday night in the Lakers win vs. the Suns, Reaves had a lot of potential.

Vogel was the head coach when the Lakers signed Reaves as an undrafted free agent and was a part of his quick ascent from a two-way player to a standard contract to be a regular part of the Lakers rotation during a lost 2021-22 campaign. It would be Vogel’s last season as the Lakers head coach, but his work with Reaves left a lasting impact.

Reaves has since become a regular starter, a Team USA member, and a high-ranking candidate for the Most Improved Player award this season. Reaves is arguably the third-best player on a team that includes superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Frank saw the potential for this type of trajectory from Reaves when they made the decision to either draft or sign him out of college, even seeing some Luka Doncic in him.

Frank Vogel saw some of Luka Doncic on Austin Reaves

“I did. We were very high on him obviously as a rookie. You have to get up to speed on the NBA game, but when we first watched him on film, Jesse Buss gave us the film of him as a college player, and we considered drafting him or picking him up if he didn’t get drafted,” Vogel said. “But it was remarkable how well he played. I remember thinking he was a smaller or poor man’s Luka with the way he played in pick-and-roll. It was that impressive to me. He hadn’t shot the ball from 3 very well but we felt like that would come and that has come along really well. He’s an all-out sniper out there now, played unbelievably in USA Basketball. [The Lakers] were lucky to get him back.”