When the Los Angeles Lakers reached the final minutes of a tight game they desperately needed to win, the player with the ball in his hands on Sunday night was not one of their superstars, but an undrafted second-year reserve. The guard who has had a career that exceeded expectations.
Austin Reeves scored the Lakers’ last 10 points during the final 93 seconds of a 111-105 win over the Orlando Magic that breathed life into Los Angeles’s flickering playoff hopes while LeBron James is out with a foot injury.
Reeves finished with a career-high 35 points, and Lakers fans hailed him “MVP!” MVP!” every time he headed to the free-throw line down the stretch.
“It’s special,” Reeves said. “I grew up as a Lakers fan, so it’s especially surreal to do this for this organization. Sometimes I have to stop and really think about what I’m doing. Obviously, I feel That all the odds were stacked against me from where I am.”
Reeves has become little more than another interesting find by the Lakers’ scouting department: The unheard-of prospect from rural Arkansas who played more baseball than basketball is now a versatile, vital part of Los Angeles’ rotation. He’s in line for a huge pay raise in free agency this summer — he hopes when he helps the Lakers to the playoffs.
“He carried us with his play tonight,” Reeves said after adding six rebounds and six assists while hitting nine of his 14 shots against Orlando. “What he wanted, pick-and-rolls, 3s, got him down the line 18 times. We know what we have in Austin. We have full confidence in him.”
Reeves became only the seventh player in franchise history to score at least 35 points in a reserve role, but the manner in which he scored his points was particularly impressive. Driving to the hoop and shooting with confidence, he repeatedly drew the Magic in fouls and then made 16 of his 18 free throws, both career highs.
“They get a lot of calls,” Davis said. “Me and Braun joke about it, like, ‘Man, we wish we could get some of those.’ As a guard, he’s able to — I don’t want to say manipulate the play — but to see how the play is being called and use it to his advantage, such as getting a lot of free throws. We do.
Reeves said that he studied how James Harden and Trae Young drew fouls and tried to incorporate their strategies into his own game. Between his propensity for fouls and his physical approach on defense, Reeves regularly ended up minorly bloodied or bruised after games.
Reeves sees it as a way to help the Lakers without relying on superior strength or world-class speed. Lakers coach Darwin Hamm calls him courageous, while James describes him as fearless.
Reeves said, “I’ve said many times that I’m not the most athletic person in the world.” “I’m not the best at anything, but I think I’m really good at a lot of things.”
jokes about his limited athletic ability, yet he would be the most athletic person in almost any room in the world—except the room where he spends most of his life.
And basketball is in his blood: Both his parents were accomplished players at Arkansas State, his mother a high-scoring 6-footer and his father a playmaking guard. He grew up worshiping his grandmother’s favorite player, Kobe Bryant.
He was recruited as a minor out of high school, and he moved on to the pros after five years in college at Wichita State and Oklahoma. He started last season on a two-way contract with the Lakers, but found his way into an NBA role as a rookie.
Reeves will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Lakers fans are already fretting about his future two years after losing Alex Caruso, another unheralded find who played a major role in the 2020 championship team. Los Angeles allowed Caruso to move to Chicago apparently to avoid adding to his luxury tax bill, even though Caruso said he would have been exempt to stay.
The Lakers can match any contract offer they make to Reeves, and it’s clear how their superstar feels about him: James cheers for Reeves’ big finish off the bench before tweeting about Reeves postgame Cheered: “You’re too tough!!”
Reeves smiled when he was shown the tweet, briefly sounding like a star-struck Lakers fan once again.
Reeves said of his bond with James, “I felt like from day one there was really good chemistry IQ-wise.” “Things like this (tweet) mean a lot to me. Looking back in 20 years when I’m hopefully retired, playing golf every day, I can tell my kids, my grandkids.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)