With voting for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game underway, there will undoubtedly be some locks to make the contest. But there will also be many players looking to make their first appearance and Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is certainly in that category.
Reaves is enjoying a career-year, averaging 27.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.7 assists while shooting over 50% from the field. There is no doubt that he is worthy of his first All-Star selection and Lakers coach JJ Redick believes he has put in the work to get there.
“I would imagine it would mean a whole lot to him,” Redick said of Reaves potentially making the All-Star Game. “Him and I have had discussions just about how surreal it is for him to be playing at this level and in this position. I obviously absolutely think he should be an All-Star this year.
“You always gotta be careful as an athlete to stop and smell the roses. The nature of competition, particularly when there’s 82 games, there’s not really a time to take your foot off the gas. That’s the offseason. And I think he’s the type of player who consistently wants to get better, consistently wants more and willing to put in the work and is willing to then go out on the court and play hard enough to actually go for more and he’s proven that over and over again.”
Reaves showed as a rookie that he was an NBA-caliber player, but very few could have predicted his rise to this level and he has improved every season he has been in the league. But Redick made it clear to Reaves when he took the job that he believed he would be an All-Star.
“Yeah, our first conversation when I took the job was, ‘You’re gonna be an All-Star,’” Redick added. “So yeah, I believed it. By the way, I’m not going to every player and saying that (laughs). Like I actually said it because I believed it.”
When asked why he believed so strongly in Reaves, Redick had a simple answer.
“I hadn’t had many interactions with Austin. We had the podcast we did in, I think it was December the start of the prior season. Just I’m willing to bet on guys that are wired a certain way,” Redick said.
There is no doubt that Reaves has that drive in him that all great players do and like Redick said he is willing to put in the work to reach his goals and get better every year. And that now has him on the brink of his first All-Star appearance.
Lakers have been cautious with Austin Reaves’ calf issue
Reaves has been dealing with a calf strain that has caused him to miss a couple of games and it wasn’t a serious injury, Redick made it clear that the Lakers would be cautious with Reaves’ return.
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