The data doesn’t lie! 92 points in two games matched Kobe: He is the strongest “free throw king” in the NBA!

The 2024-25 NBA new season regular season has completed its one-week schedule! The new season brings a new atmosphere from the team to the players. Compared with last season, the league structure is very different. Wenbanyama played a super performance and led the Spurs to a 4-0 record, ranking first in the league. Edgcomb, the 25th draft pick, averaged 25 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6 assists per game. His three shooting percentages reached 50%, 40%, and 86%, helping the 76ers achieve a good result of 3 wins and 0 losses. If this continues, the Rookie of the Year Award will lose suspense. If Wenbanyama's growth has a psychological budget, and Edgecombe's performance can be traced, then there is another undrafted player in the league who has played in the first few games of this season to match last season's MVP and All-NBA First Team. The FMVP winner is a bit shocking. Yes, he is Rivers, the Lakers' third-leading player. The Lakers have been in trouble since the start of the season. Veteran James was unable to play due to injury. Team boss Doncic only played two games and was exempted from the game. He is expected to be absent for at least a week. Under this premise, Rivers stepped forward to lead the Lakers forward!

Austin Rivers - Born in 1998 in Arkansas, USA. He played for Duke University and the University of Oklahoma in college. With his steady style of play and high basketball IQ, although he performed well in college, his mediocre physical talent was rejected by the NBA draft. He regretfully failed to participate in the 2021 draft, but he did not give up. The Los Angeles Lakers signed him with a two-way contract, officially starting his NBA career! In his first season with the Lakers, he averaged 23.2 points per game, contributed 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists, and shot 45.9% from the field. Such data is even better than many first-round picks. In the second season of his career, he started 22 times, and his average playing time increased to 28.8 minutes per game. His personal data soared to 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, and his shooting percentage also reached 52.9%. In the third season of his career, he has become the third core of the Lakers next to James, averaging 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He started 73 games last season and averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game!

Rivers' role in the team has experienced significant changes from substitute to core. With his outstanding performance on the defensive end, he gradually won the trust of coaches and teammates, and successfully joined the team's core lineup. This transformation not only demonstrates his personal strength and potential, but also brings a significant improvement to the team's overall strength. From 2021 onwards, Rivers has gradually become a core member of the Lakers. He has improved significantly from substitute to starter. Now when James is getting older and the Lakers are replaced by Doncic, Rivers is expected to play the second core of the team. This offseason, Rivers rejected the Lakers' 4-year, $90 million contract extension offer. After the incident, many people thought Rivers was crazy. How dare he refuse this big contract? However, Rivers proved himself with an excellent court!

92 points in two games compared to Kobe: The strongest undrafted player in the NBA is born!

So far in the new season, Rivers has played in all 4 games of the Lakers, averaging 37.8 minutes per game, averaging 35.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists, with a three-way shooting percentage of 57/43/88. %, with an explosive true shooting percentage of 73%. For comparison, SGA, the core of the Thunder, averaged 35.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists in the same four games, with a three-point shooting percentage of 51/24/85% and a true shooting percentage of 62%! In other words, except for scoring, Rivers is higher than SGA in all aspects. Who said he shouldn't reject the 90 million offer over 4 years? Especially in the past two games, Rivers directly performed the strongest undrafted performance in the NBA. He scored 51 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists against the Kings. He led the team to an away victory against the Kings without James and Doncic. Today, against the Trail Blazers back to back, Rivers was not affected by his physical fitness at all. He scored 41 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists in 39 minutes. Although the team lost, he was impeccable on both offense and defense! He scored a total of 92 points in two back-to-back games, making him the second player in Lakers history to score 90+ points in back-to-back games after 2007. In terms of the first 4 games of the new season, Rivers is the first undrafted player in NBA history!

He is the strongest "free throw king" in the NBA!

The season has just begun, James is still on a truce, and Doncic is injured again. It’s worth looking forward to how many surprises Rivers can create for us in the future. The peculiar offensive rhythm allows him to easily get to the free throw line. You must know that Alexander, who is known for his free throws since the beginning of the game, has averaged 11.5 free throws per game, while Rivers averaged 12.8 free throws per game. It turns out that Rivers is the NBA’s “free throw king”. It’s incredible. Regarding Rivers’ performance, if you have anything to say, please leave a message in the comment area to discuss!