Lakers’ Austin Reaves is cementing himself as Luka Dončić’s long-term co-star with his historic start
Austin Reaves didn’t even technically come to the Los Angeles Lakers as a complete player. His initial contract as an undrafted free agent was a two-way deal. A strong summer earned him a standard contract and a spot on the team before the start of his 2021-22 rookie season, but it set the stage for what the start of his career has looked like.
Every year, Reaves is asked to prove himself. Can this undrafted rookie play on a team with championship hopes? Can he be the third and secondary scorer after the Lakers trade Russell Westbrook? Can he be a full-time starter? An essential element of a competitor?
He met all the challenges. Its growth has been remarkably linear. His scoring jumped by 5.7, 2.9 and 4.3 points per game in each successive season. His assists increased similarly over his first three seasons before plateauing last year, when he suddenly had to share the floor with two Hall of Famers. One of those Hall of Famers, LeBron James, has yet to play this season. Frankly, Reaves was so good in Year 5 that he could be now. falls to James adapt to him.
In five games, Reaves is averaging 34.2 points and 10 assists per game. On Wednesday, he sent the same Minnesota Timberwolves team that bottled him in the first round last season home on a game-winning runner at the buzzer. Although he scored 28 points in the victory, he has been so hot lately that his scoring average has increased. down after the match.
At this point, his successful five-year partnership with James is a lesser concern. In reality, it’s the other Hall of Famer that matters here, because seemingly everything the Los Angeles Lakers have done since acquiring Luka Dončić has been about landing exactly the kind of co-star Reaves is becoming.
They have accumulated space for as many free agents as possible. They held on to their draft picks knowing they will have three first-rounders to deal with this offseason. Passing the Mark Williams trade was primarily a medical issue, sure, but it’s hard not to see it as an asset allocation issue as well. Why take that kind of risk on an injured player when those same chips could be cashed in for someone much better across the board? With Reaves heading toward unrestricted free agency in 2026, he could have even potentially been signed and traded in a package for such a bigger fish. It was up to him to prove that he was too good to let himself be bullied in this area.
What if 34 points and 10 assists per game so far aren’t enough to get there? Well, nothing will. Individual statistics don’t really do him justice. Look at how well Dončić played in his first two games with only Reaves and no James alongside him: 46 points, 11.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game on 62% shooting from the floor. Not only does Reaves climb specifically, but he does so in a way that is inherently beneficial to Dončić. He’s a good enough ball creator to take the pressure off him. And he doesn’t dominate the ball to the point of bothering Dončić. His fouls stop the clock, giving Dončić additional breathing space. His shot spaces the floor for him. So far, the partnership is everything the Lakers could have hoped for.
And if that’s the case, well, that changes a lot in how the Lakers can approach building this team both in the short and long term. If it’s less imperative to hoard assets for another superstar in the future, for example, those assets could be spent in the present on much-needed defensive players. This would allow the Lakers to capitalize on this other legend they already have, James, who doesn’t seem very likely to be around much longer. Trading picks for immediate help doesn’t jeopardize Dončić’s timeline as much if the Lakers believe they already have their second star in Reaves to keep by his side for the long term.
The hardest thing for a future champion to do is find the true superstar. The Lakers pulled this rabbit out of their hat in February. They acted as if the next step was the logical, linear progression: finding him his sidekick. But if the start of this season is any indication, the sidekick is already here. Finding these two players is the hardest part, because as Dončić showed in Dallas, just give him another All-Star caliber offensive teammate and he can take you to the NBA Finals.
The Lakers apparently did it. Of course, they can always try to get another one. These are the Lakers we’re talking about, after all. If they think they have a prayer for a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić as free agents in 2027, they’re not going to chase that hope away. But there’s no longer that desperation, that obsession with potentially wasting a year or more waiting for the opportunity to trade for something they thought they needed. Austin Reaves is now an All-Star. He and Dončić can form the basis of a championship-level offense. And if that is the case, all that remains is to build a defense worthy of their gifts. Dallas did it with much less draft ammo to spend in a much less desirable market. Even though the Lakers still have a way to go, the path to building their eventual winner has never seemed simpler.
