Austin Reaves’ career has been defined by him stepping up to the challenge.
His path from undrafted rookie to Lakers superstar has been a steady upward climb, something not always common in the NBA. Each
season, he’s been asked to take on a bigger role and each season, he’s answered the bell.
However, the latest leap he’s made might be his most impressive. After establishing himself as, at the very least, an elite role player last season, Reaves has immediately elevated himself to superstar status in the opening weeks of this season.
With both Luka Dončić and LeBron James sidelined by injuries, Austin has once again been asked to do more and, once again, has stepped up. Over the first two weeks of the season, Reaves has pieced together incredible performances that have featured a career-high in points, a game-winning buzzer beater and league-wide recognition of the star he has become.
How did it all happen so fast? Let’s look at the rapid ascension Reaves has gone on over the last week, starting at the beginning.
“I ain’t gonna lie. I went to the free throw line like, ‘S—, I better not miss.’”
While Reaves’ week of playing without his superstar teammates has been the larger focus, by no means did he start the season poorly. He was simply overshadowed by Luka’s own MVP-caliber start.
After scoring 43 points on opening night, Luka poured in 49 points in a win over the Wolves. But it was the points he didn’t score that Reaves let him know about.
Luka was left in the game late in the fourth to try to get 50 points and had his chance with a pair of two free throws. However, he split the two freebies and was soon subbed out, leaving him one point shy and opening up the door for his teammates to let him know about it.
Luka wouldn’t get a chance at redemption as, hours before Sunday’s game against the Kings, he was ruled out for at least a week with both a sprained finger, suffered against the Wolves, and a lower leg contusion. With LeBron already out to start the season due to sciatica, Reaves was the only one left standing.
Given the reins to the offense against the Kings, Reaves flourished, as he so often has in his career. The Lakers leaned on him heavily and he responded in kind, pouring in a career high 51 points with 30 of those coming in the second half.
Whether it was timely 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, impressive finishes at the rim or the countless trips to the free throw line — which had the Kings crashing out after the game — Reaves had answers for everything Sacramento threw his way. And not to be lost in the shuffle is how close he came to a historic triple-double as he finished with 11 rebounds and nine assists.
“First quarter, wouldn’t say I started off great…you just stick with it,” Reaves said postgame. “Especially on a night you don’t have Luka, you don’t have LeBron, you don’t have Jaxson, you know you have to go out there and be big for the team. I wasn’t in my head thinking, ‘You have to score 50.’ It was, ‘Do whatever you can do to help the team win.’“
In a bit of poetry, Reaves went to the line with 23 seconds remaining and two chances to eclipse 50 points. Unlike Luka, Reaves knocked both down.
“I ain’t gonna lie,” Reaves said. “I went to the free throw line like, ‘S—, I better not miss.’”
Always one to have the right perspective and never let the spotlight shine too long on him, Reaves was quick to point out the role those around him on the team had in his breakout game.
“I feel like I’m just playing the game I love,” Reaves said. “Try to play the right way, do the right things on and off the court and put the work in. You can’t take shortcuts. On top of that, my teammates and my coaching staff let me be myself. That’s a big reason for why I’m able to go play the way I play.”
“You’re no longer the undrafted guy who’s a young player who’s unproven. You’re one of the guys now.”
There was little time for celebration as, 24 hours later, the team returned to Los Angeles for the second night of a back-to-back against the Blazers.
Not only were the Lakers and Reaves tasked with going up against a team willing and able to pressure perimeter players with All-Defense talent in Toumani Camara and Jrue Holiday, but LA was even more shorthanded with both Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent sitting out the contest after playing on Sunday. In effect, Reaves was the only reliable ballhandler the team had entering the game.
Again, it didn’t matter.
While he couldn’t quite muster up enough heroics to carry the severely undermanned Lakers across the finish line again, it was through no fault of his own that the purple and gold came up empty. Reaves finished with 41 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Heading into the season, only Anthony Davis had scored at least 92 points in a two-game span for the Lakers since 2009. In a span of four games to open the season, Reaves and Luka joined him.
Even more, Reaves’ 143 points through the first four games of the season tied him for the third most points in franchise history across the opening four contests of a campaign.
No longer was Reaves seen as the plucky underdog with a fun story. Now, he was one of the team’s leaders both in the locker room and on the court.
“I think the biggest thing was him taking a step forward as a leader and recognizing that it’s as much his team as it is LeBron’s team or Luka’s team and acknowledging that he does have innate natural leadership skills and being able to tap into those more consistently,” Redick said of his conversations over the summer with Reaves. ”I told him he’s out of excuses. ‘You’re no longer the undrafted guy who’s a young player who’s unproven. You’re one of the guys now.’“
“That guy’s going to show up in the big moments.”
Reaves didn’t need to do any more proving that he had arrived this season, but that didn’t stop him from offering up one of the highlights of his career two nights later.
The Lakers faced a familiar foe in the Timberwolves, the team that bounced them out of the playoffs last season. They, too, were shorthanded with Anthony Edwards sidelined due to a hamstring strain.
However, it was also a team that Reaves struggled mightily against in that postseason. After the series, it was reported that he was dealing with a toe injury, but the criticisms came all the same.
But Reaves was hard on himself, too. He lamented the missed game-tying shot he had in Game 4, an off-balance corner 3-pointer that may have helped save the Lakers and their head coach from embarrassment.
Given a chance to return to the building again, Reaves seized the opportunity. While his shot wasn’t falling at the level it had in previous games that week, he made up for it in other ways. Reaves turned to facilitating and handed out 16 assists, tying his career high.
On the back of his playmaking, the Lakers built a 20-point second-half lead. However, LA watched it all slip away in the fourth quarter as the Wolves eventually took the lead with 10 seconds remaining.
But Reaves would have the last laugh.
It might have been Reaves’ first true buzzer-beater, but he was not new to game-winning shots in his young career.
“That guy’s going to show up in the big moments,” Redick said. “Not surprised. He’s done that many times in his career. He’s done that many times since I’ve been his coach. I feel very comfortable with him making decisions late-game.
“To me, he’s established himself as a bad dude. He did that last year. I think, league-wide, he was viewed as a really good player…For me, I think the big thing is he’s established himself as the leader. He’s one of the leaders or the leader on the court. That’s big time. That’s what we want.”
What made the moment, and the week, special was not just Reaves’ performances but also the camaraderie the team had built during the stretch. Never was that more apparent than in the celebrations after the game-winner.
“It’s been special,” Reaves said. “In those situations, I don’t remember seeing the ball go in the basket, for some reason. I knew it went in the basket. I kind of probably blacked out a little bit. And then I looked down towards the bench and everybody’s running towards me. It’s a good feeling.”
There’s no telling what impact this stretch will have on either Reaves or the Lakers’ season. In the moment, it was integral to keeping the team afloat until Luka and LeBron return. Individually, it vaulted Reaves into superstardom.
Does it change the calculus of the Lakers’ offense this season once they are healthy? Will it lead to an All-Star selection for Reaves? How much does this change Reaves’ impending free agency this summer?
It’s all questions without answers. But what has been made absolutely clear once again over this week is that Reaves will continue to show up, no matter what is asked of him.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on BlueSky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
