Austin Reaves’s role on the Lakers has become an integral part of the franchise’s success.
However, the third-year guard would not be in his position without the trust and on-the-court chemistry he has built with Lakers star LeBron James. Although Reaves is constantly “working” to gain the full trust of the 19-time All-Star on the hardwood, Reaves believes the moment James truly trusted him came in the first game of the Lakers’ opening round playoff series against the Grizzlies last season.
“I remember in the fourth quarter when I had it going, there was a shot,” Reaves said on an upcoming episode of The Old Man and The Three podcast. “… Bron’s got the ball and I get to half court, and I hear him yelling my name. He was like, ‘Come get the ball.’ I was like ‘oh s---,’ I got to make something good happen. … I can’t make him look stupid. … Everybody’s probably looking at him sideways for giving me the ball, but it ended up working thank God. And after that, I kind of sit there after the game trying to fathom what actually just happened.”
Austin Reaves on the moment he felt he fully gained LeBron’s trust pic.twitter.com/biGgJt5UQE
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) December 20, 2023
The Lakers went on to defeat the Grizzlies, 4–2, in the first-round series. In those six games, Reaves averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. While Reaves’s production dipped in the Lakers’ semifinal series against the Warriors, he averaged his highest points total per game (21.0) in the Western Conference finals, despite the Nuggets’ sweep of the Lakers.
This season, Reaves is thriving in the Lakers’ offense and is averaging career highs in minutes (29.6), rebounds (4.7), assists (5.0), and points (15.0) per game as the Lakers (15-12) currently eighth in the Western Conference standings.
