Austin Reaves' 2025-26 scoring fell from 28.4 to 20.7 a game, minutes flat
Comparing Reaves's first 20 and last 20 regular-season appearances in 2025-26, his minutes held near 36 a game while points per 36 minutes fell from 27.9 to 20.7. Fewer possessions used per minute and lower true shooting both contributed.
Published: · Figures as of October 3, 2026
Asked: Looking back at Austin Reaves's 2025-26 regular season, how did his scoring change between his first 20 and last 20 appearances? Was it mostly playing time or production per minute?
Reaves's scoring fell 7.7 points a game, and minutes had nothing to do with it
Across 2025-26 regular-season appearances, Austin Reaves averaged 28.4 points over his first 20 games (October 21 to December 7) and 20.7 over his last 20 (February 26 to April 2). That is a drop of 7.7. His minutes barely changed, 36.7 a game then 36.0, so the whole drop is production per minute: 27.9 points per 36 minutes fell to 20.7.
| Per game | First 20 | Last 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes | 36.7 | 36.0 |
| Points | 28.4 | 20.7 |
| Points per 36 min | 27.9 | 20.7 |
| Field goal attempts | 16.9 | 14.4 |
| Free throw attempts | 9.6 | 6.0 |
| True shooting | .673 | .606 |
| Shots, free throws and turnovers per 36 min | 24.0 | 19.6 |
Two things moved together. He used fewer possessions per minute (24.0 to 19.6 per 36), which came mostly from fewer free throw trips and fewer shots. He also scored less efficiently on each possession, with true shooting down from .673 to .606.
Free throws were the biggest piece. Attempts fell from 9.6 to 6.0 a game, and that part of his game fed the early-season efficiency.
The 11 games in between (December 10 to February 24) fall in the stretch where he missed 19 straight games. He averaged 27.7 minutes and 18.7 points in them. The late-season decline is therefore not just a post-injury dip, because the last 20 games came with a full workload.
Confidence: High for the split, since it is a finished season. The cause of the drop in usage and efficiency is not in the data.