Before Austin Reaves became a reliable scorer and fan favorite in Los Angeles, he was just an undrafted rookie trying to find his place on a star-studded Lakers roster. But according to a former Lakers coach, it didn’t take long to figure out Reaves wasn’t just another name on the bench. From the very first practice, he brought a certain edge, one that even caught veterans off guard.
Phil Handy knew Reaves Was Special Long Before the League Did
During an appearance on the “All The Smoke podcast,” longtime Lakers assistant Phil Handy opened up about his early impressions of Austin Reaves. Handy, a three-time NBA champion as assistant coach who spent five years with the Lakers, said Reaves impressed him even before he officially made the team.
Handy recounted watching Reaves in Summer League and noticing something different—not in his numbers, but in his demeanor. The confidence, the grit, the chip on his shoulder—it all stood out. So much so, that Handy didn’t hesitate to push the young guard to take control.
“I saw that from Day 1. He was playing for our Summer League team, he was undrafted… but I saw clips of him in college,” Handy said. “People think this is just now. If you go back and watch a couple of his games for Oklahoma, he got some sh*t with him. I was like, ‘Hold up, man.’”
At halftime of a Summer League game, Handy even pulled Reaves aside to give him some pointers to push his to the next level.
“I went over and said, ‘Man, come here. You want to make this team? You need to shoot the f***ing ball,’” Handy said. “When Summer League was over, and I was in the gym with him, that’s when I saw it. It was just his inner belief.”
Handy, who was part of the Lakers’ 2020 championship run, is now a head coach in the Unrivaled League, but his respect for Reaves clearly hasn’t faded.
Besides Phil Handy, Reaves Has an Admirer in Head Coach JJ Redick Too
Austin Reaves isn’t just a great story—he’s hooping at the next level. The 6’5″ guard is averaging 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists this season.
In the Lakers’ 124-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, Reaves poured in 30 points—his fourth 30-point outing in the last five games. After the game, head coach JJ Redick had high praise for the 25-year-old.
“I think he’s just playing with a very high level of confidence right now,” Redick said. “That freedom that he’s played with for most of the season has allowed him room to grow.”
Reaves also become the first Laker ever to hit 15+ threes in a two-game stretch and surpassed Nick Van Exel for second-most threes in a single Lakers season. It shows Handy was right in his assessment of Reaves who is now an integral part of Lakers’ roster.