There has been a lot of discussion this offseason about Luka Doncic and LeBron James as the two superstars leading the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season. And while there is no doubt that will be the case, perhaps the X-factor for the success of this team will be Austin Reaves.
Set to enter his fifth NBA season, and on the final year of his contract, there will be a lot of pressure on Reaves to see if he can build off of what was a career year last season. However, that season also didn’t end well for Reaves as he struggled in the Lakers’ first-round playoff exit while dealing with a toe injury.
Following the end of last season, head coach JJ Redick asked for every Lakers player to get into “championship shape” and during his pre-season press conference Redick let it be known that Reaves has done just that while also being the best player any time he’s been in the Lakers’ practice facility this offseason.
“When he’s not on the golf course. That guy shot a 65 this summer. Make sure you ask him that on Monday. No, it’s been a constant comment from our staff. He’s been the best. Every day in the gym, he’s been the best player in the gym,” Redick said. “But I see again, this goes back to last May all summer, his body is really good right now. He’s really strong. His burst, his athleticism, it’s evident that he’s spent a lot of time working on his body this summer.”
This is a promising sign of things to come for Reaves this season as the guard will undoubtedly have a lot on his plate this season. He had already taken on more of an on-ball role for this team and that will surely continue now that he will have a full training camp and preseason to integrate with Doncic and James so that all three can bring the best out of each other.
A lot of the talk in public about Reaves has been focused on his golf exploits, but that is just a hobby as the guard knows how important this season is and is prepared to make it his best. If he can take another leap for the Lakers this offseason, the ceiling for this team becomes that much higher.
JJ Redick believes Lakers have 7-8 capable starters on roster
There has also been some discourse about whether Austin Reaves might be better served coming off the bench for this Lakers squad in order to allow a better perimeter defender into the starting lineup. Whether JJ Redick would even consider the move is unclear, but the head coach does believe that the Lakers have a number of players capable of being starters on this team.
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