On Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers played the Toronto Raptors in Canada.
The Lakers won by a score of 123-120.
Austin Reaves exploded for 44 points, five rebounds and ten assists while shooting 13/21 from the field and 5/11 from three-point range in 41 minutes of playing time.
Magic Johnson Made His Feelings Clear About Austin Reaves
Reaves has been among the best players in the league during the 2025-26 season.
After Thursday’s game, Lakers legend (and Basketball Hall of Famer) Magic Johnson sent out a post about Reaves.
His post had over 5,000 likes and 100,000 impressions in less than 24 hours.
He wrote: “Austin Reaves continued his dominant play this season scoring 44 points with 11 assists to lead the Lakers to a 123-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors! Reaves should definitely be playing in the NBA All-Star game this year!”
Austin Reaves continued his dominant play this season scoring 44 points with 11 assists to lead the Lakers to a 123-120 victory over the Toronto Raptors! Reaves should definitely be playing in the NBA All-Star game this year!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) December 5, 2025
Reaves went undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2021.
He is currently averaging 28.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 52.6% from the field and 37.1% from three-point range in 18 games.
Via The NBA: “THE RISE OF AUSTIN REAVES 🔥 This season with the Lakers, he’s averaging… 28.9 PPG (career high) 5.7 RPG (career high) 6.8 APG (career high) Catch him in action vs. Boston at 7:00 PM ET on Prime!”
THE RISE OF AUSTIN REAVES 🔥
This season with the Lakers, he’s averaging…
28.9 PPG (career high)
5.7 RPG (career high)
6.8 APG (career high)Catch him in action vs. Boston at 7:00 PM ET on Prime! pic.twitter.com/EPx1Pkt2j5
— NBA (@NBA) December 5, 2025
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With their victory over the Raptors, the Lakers improved to 16-5 in 21 games, which has them as the second seed in the Western Confernece.
They are an outstanding 9-2 in the 11 games they have played on the road away from Los Angeles, California.
Currently, the Lakers are just 4.5 games back of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the top spot in the West.
Via Underdog NBA: “Austin Reaves in 4 games without Luka Doncic this season: 41.0 PPG 10.0 APG 5.3 RPG 1.8 SPG 52.8% FG 42.5% 3PT”
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Reaves and the Lakers are coming off a season where they were the third seed in the Western Conference with a 50-32 record.
However, they lost to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs.
MORE: NBA Fans React To Luka Dončić Personal News Before Lakers-Raptors Game
Over 298 games, Reaves has career averages of 15.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest while shooting 48.5% from the field and 37.0% from three-point range.
