Austin Reaves has become a bonafide star for the Los Angeles Lakers and will be a key factor in the team’s success as they head into second phase of the 2025-26 season.
The All-Star break came at the perfect time for the Lakers and Reaves as the group has been banged up with various injuries. Reaves was able to make his return to the lineup just before the break after missing over a month with a calf injury.
The time off did Reaves well as he showed no ill effects from his injury and the All-Star break afforded him even more opportunities to reset physically and mentally. With a game against the L.A. Clippers on tap for Friday, Reaves has been cleared from his minutes restriction so he should make his way back to the starting lineup.
After Thursday’s practice, Reaves expressed his excitement for the remainder of the schedule and getting more reps with his teammates.
“It feels great. We still have some time to get on-court reps with our full group and that’s exciting. Today was a good first step in kicking off these 28 games, so very excited,” he said.
Reaves acknowledged that he, Luka Doncic and LeBron James are still building their continuity but also emphasized the entire team could use reps on the floor together.
“It’s very important,” Reaves added. “You have those games from last year, but obviously you still have a learning curve of how to play alongside one another and that’s with everybody else on the team as well. Just continuing to build that continuity and confidence and every single possession we’re locked in with five guys that are on the court so very excited.”
Injuries have derailed any chance of the Lakers players getting on-court reps, but with the team finally healthy they’ve got to maximize each game. Practice time will be rare as the upcoming schedule features a game every other day at minimum until the end of March, so in-game reps will be of the utmost importance.
A fully healthy Los Angeles team is a viable playoff threat, but Reaves and company still need to put in the work to play their best basketball on both ends of the floor.
Austin Reaves’ biggest goal is winning a championship with the Lakers
Austin Reaves has proven all he cares about is winning, making him a perfect player to represent the purple and gold. In fact, Reaves said that his biggest goal is to win a championship with the Lakers.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.
