LOS ANGELES -- Down the stretch, the spotlight has largely centered on stars like LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden. However, it’s the steady, sometimes overlooked contributions from their backcourt counterparts—Austin Reaves of the Lakers and Norman Powell of the Clippers—that have quietly elevated both teams. Neither has the name recognition of their superstar teammates, but with the postseason looming, both have become indispensable.
So, which team has the better third option: the Clippers or the Lakers?
Statistically, Powell is averaging 21.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, with an impressive 48.4% shooting from the field and 41.8% from three-point range. Reaves counters with 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists, shooting 46.0% from the floor and 37.7% from deep. Both players contribute defensively, with one steal per game. Powell holds a slight edge in scoring efficiency, particularly from beyond the arc, where he’s proven himself as a great floor spacer and reliable scorer alongside Leonard and Harden.
Reaves, meanwhile, offers a broader skill set. He nearly triples Powell’s assist numbers and regularly initiates the offense—whether or not the Lakers' two superstars are on the floor. His poise in the pick-and-roll and ability to make reads under pressure have made him a trusted decision-maker for coach J.J. Redick. As Reaves once put it: "Play the game the right way and just do what the game calls for. If it’s scoring, score. If it’s not, make plays. But at the end of the day, just get us organized—get us into stuff that we need to get into."
Looking at advanced metrics, the comparison between the two is razor-thin. Reaves edges out Powell with a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 18.17, ranking 94th in the NBA, while Powell sits at 17.54, ranked 113th. Defensively, Powell has a slight advantage, posting a 113.1 defensive rating compared to Reaves' 116.5, though neither player is particularly known for being a ball hawk.
Still, Powell has made a visible effort to improve defensively. “They want me to return to my earlier days guarding the ball, being a two-way player,” he said early in the season. That commitment has helped him stay on the floor during high-leverage moments for a team that ranks in the top three for defensive rating league-wide.
Powell’s job? Get buckets. And few do it better. Reaves, on the other hand, is a Swiss Army knife—capable of scoring, rebounding, facilitating, and adapting on the fly. That versatility gives the Lakers an edge in tight games. He even recorded one of his three career triple-doubles this season—no small feat.
Ultimately, both Austin Reaves and Norman Powell are invaluable to their teams. The better third option depends on what each team needs. If the two swapped teams, Powell would likely fit in better with the Lakers than Reaves would with the Clippers. That said, both players are ideal third options for their respective squads. They’ll be crucial to their teams' playoff runs—and if the Lakers and Clippers somehow meet in the Western Conference Finals, a dramatic twist for the city, the quiet battle between Reaves and Powell could emerge as one of the defining matchups of the series.