Making the leap from undrafted free agent to the NBA is daunting for any player, but Austin Reaves faced an even steeper climb when he joined a Los Angeles Lakers roster headlined by LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook.
Though Reaves has since developed into a fan favorite and key contributor in L.A., his introduction to the team was overwhelming. Reflecting on his first practice alongside the superstar duo, the Lakers guard recently shared a hilarious and honest admission about just how surreal the experience felt.
Austin Reaves Recalls Surreal First Practice With LeBron James and Lakers Stars
Reaves had a five-year college career, beginning at Wichita State before transferring to Oklahoma after his sophomore season. As a senior, he averaged 18.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game, but he went undrafted and ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, earning the 14th spot on the roster.
Joining a veteran-laden team led by James, Westbrook, and Davis, expectations were sky-high, and Reaves admitted he initially felt overwhelmed.
“At first, I was super nervous,” he recalled in his SLAM magazine debut. “I remember I was the first one in the gym the morning of the practice. Everybody started filing in, and it was Bron, Russ [Westbrook], Melo [Anthony], AD [Anthony Davis], Dwight [Howard]. And I’m sitting there thinking, ‘What the hell is going on?’”
However, once practice began, his nerves slowly faded. After connecting on a no-look pass to James for a dunk, Reaves said everything changed.
“So, I was definitely nervous at first. And then once we got to running up and down, I felt more at home and [it] just became [about] playing basketball. But there was one play in particular, we drove down, went past [Rajon] Rondo and then threw a no-look pass to Bron and he dunked it. And after that, it felt like the weight of the world was off my shoulders, and it was just time to play basketball,” he added.
Since then, Reaves has steadily grown into a key piece of the franchise. He appeared in 61 games as a rookie, averaging 7.3 points per contest, before emerging as a legitimate sixth man in his second season with 13 points per game.
Now 27, Reaves is playing the best basketball of his career. He is averaging 25.7 points, 6.0 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game, along with 2.6 three-pointers and 1.0 steals, while shooting 50.8% from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc, production that bodes well for the Lakers’ future whenever James ultimately steps away.
