{"id":7663,"date":"2026-05-18T22:33:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7663"},"modified":"2026-05-18T22:33:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:33:30","slug":"austin-reaves-5-year-lakers-journey-reaches-a-crossroads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7663","title":{"rendered":"Austin Reaves\u2019 5-year Lakers journey reaches a crossroads"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Fewer than six months after he first joined the Lakers, Austin Reaves joined 3-point shooting drills at the behest of LeBron James following an October 2021 practice just before the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n

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Reaves, who had bet on himself as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma to earn a spot on the Lakers rather than accept a potential second-round selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, was then the new face on the team. The act of a future Hall-of-Famer taking the rookie guard \u201cunder his wing,\u201d as Reaves said last week after the Lakers\u2019 season ended in a second-round playoff sweep against the Oklahoma City Thunder, was just an early sign of things to come for Reaves.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing AR grow over these five years has been nothing short of amazing,\u201d James said last week. \u201cHe\u2019s just, he\u2019s a hard worker. He loves the game. He wants to get better and he\u2019s not afraid of constructive criticism. And I kinda knew that from the beginning. I saw the talent, but also saw that he was wanting to put the work in and willing to \u2013 he wasn\u2019t afraid of the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five years removed from Reaves\u2019 rookie season practice moment alongside James, the now-27-year-old guard enjoyed a career-best campaign across the board with 23.3 points per game on 49% shooting from the field \u2013 jumping James as the definitive second-leading scorer behind Luka Doncic late into the season. Now, he faces unrestricted free agency for the first time in his NBA career. Reaves is widely expected to decline the player option attached to the four-year, $53.8 million deal he signed after his sophomore season in Los Angeles, and could earn a five-year, $241 million max-level contract in free agency should he re-sign with the Lakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see where he is today is awesome and it\u2019s something that, I knew he could be a big-time player for our ball club,\u201d James said. \u201cAnd I knew, if we just got the opportunity and also he gained the confidence in himself that he know he belonged in this league, that he could do some special things in this league. And he\u2019s obviously showed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

James is an unrestricted free agent, and could retire or choose to continue his career for a 24th season with or without the Lakers. Reaves is testing the waters as well with the player option deadline a little more than a month away (June 29). But that didn\u2019t stop Reaves from thinking about the possibilities of continuing his career alongside James when asked about the 41-year-old star after the Lakers were eliminated last Monday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, it would mean the world to me,\u201d Reaves said when asked if he\u2019d like to continue playing with James. \u201cI don\u2019t know anything different. My rookie year, I had no idea what the hell was going on and he basically took me under his wing and given me every opportunity that I could ever ask for (and) trusted me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reaves said he and James have built a \u201creal friendship.\u201d Reaves, an avid golfer with a golfing YouTube channel called \u201cHillbilly Bogey,\u201d has watched as James has taken up the sport \u2013 a hobby that Reaves noted increased his closeness with the four-time NBA champion.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Reaves continued: \u201cIt\u2019s been super fun and I hope to continue to do that. (James has) taught me a lot. I owe him a lot for my career. He\u2019s given me confidence every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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El Segundo, home of the Lakers\u2019 training facility, played home to a different Reaves memory that President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka referenced during his end-of-season interview on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Pelinka pointed to the practice courts and shared a story of an \u201cexhausted\u201d draft prospect mustering the strength to put an impressive showcase together in front of Lakers decision makers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember actually being here with my son on that court watching that, which is one of the turning points of getting (Reaves) here; just that workout and how he approached it,\u201d Pelinka said, adding that both the Lakers and Reaves\u2019 camp have made it \u201cabundantly clear\u201d that the two sides would like to continue their relationship. \u201cBut he started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

It wasn\u2019t a perfect potential final season for Reaves with the Lakers by any means.<\/p>\n

Despite his career-best scoring totals, he struggled to stay on the court because of injuries. Reaves battled a midseason left calf strain, and missed the end of the regular season and most of the first round of the playoffs with a left oblique strain. Lakers coach JJ Redick said last week, much like Doncic, that outside of his on-the-court production, Reaves grew as a leader on the team.<\/p>\n

Reaves might have arrived in L.A. as the new face on the Lakers, looking for guidance from James. He now enters a new chapter next month as one of the faces of the team; whether he chooses to remain in purple and gold or start anew.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis obviously has been my best season since I\u2019ve been a pro \u2013 the numbers and stuff,\u201d Reaves said. \u201cYeah, I mean I always feel like, that\u2019s the beautiful thing about basketball, is there\u2019s always opportunities and areas that you can continue to grow. You\u2019re never going to be complete in the full game. So, I\u2019ll take some time off, get back in the gym and continue to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Reaves, set to become an unrestricted free agent if\/when he declines his player option by the June 29 deadline, spoke last week about how LeBron James had helped guide him since he arrived in L.A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAustin Reaves\u2019 5-year Lakers journey reaches a crossroads - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7663\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Austin Reaves\u2019 5-year Lakers journey reaches a crossroads - 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