Los Angeles Lakers stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have arguably been two of the most exciting players in the NBA to start the 2025-26 campaign, with both players having some incredible performances right out of the gate.
Although Doncic is a superstar and, without a doubt, one of the best players in the NBA ever since he came into the league in 2018, Reaves has put on a show when given the opportunity, as he has far exceeded expectations in a contract year, which continues to put pressure on the Lakers brass to retain him.
Lakers’ Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves Open Up About Halfcourt Competition
Along with being two of the most entertaining players in the league to start the 2025-26 NBA season, Doncic and Reaves put their limitless range on display during the matchup on the road against the Charlotte Hornets.
Both Lakers stars casually hit some shots that went beyond halfcourt during the win against the Hornets, which prompted a debate between the two about how far their shots were, even though neither shot counted, via the Lakers’ X account.
Luka and Austin had a half-court competition… IN-GAME pic.twitter.com/u7WklwrOUC
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 11, 2025
It seems that Doncic has the edge in this competition, as he hit a shot from three-quarters of the court while Reaves was only beyond halfcourt, which is obviously still very impressive, especially with how casually both players threw up these incredible shots from distance.
“Mine was further,” Doncic said after the game. “Just pointed out where I made it and where he made it. Make sure that he knows mine was further.”
Reaves also chimed in with his thoughts on this halfcourt shooting competition.
“He was mad at me for grabbing the one at the end of the third quarter and just chucking it,” Reaves said of Doncic. “He said he would’ve given me an assist if I would’ve thrown it to him, but we’ll have to check the film and see which one was further.”
Regardless of who came out on top in this I-can-shoot-further-than-you competition during Monday’s game against the Hornets, the Lakers ultimately were able to come out on top and bounce back with a vengeance following their loss to the Atlanta Hawks, which wasn’t pretty, to say the least.
With the Lakers getting back to their winning ways, the team will have three more road games before returning home to Crypto.com Arena, where LeBron James is expected to make his season debut on Nov. 18 against the visiting Utah Jazz.
The Lakers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans, and Milwaukee Bucks before heading back to Los Angeles to take on Lauri Markkanen and company.
