Austin Reaves was the hero for the Los Angeles Lakers in their thrilling Christmas Day bout against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. He not only posted a triple-double, but he had the game-winning layup in the final seconds to give the Lakers a two-point win. It was an incredible moment for Reaves, who stepped up in a huge win with Anthony Davis out and Curry doing Curry things on the offensive end.
After the game, all the focus was on the fourth-year Lakers guard, who has truly begun to establish himself as a legitimate starter-level player in the NBA. He even drew comparisons to Manu Ginobli from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
And in his postgame interview, Reaves spoke about the moments directly following the win, saying that it was a rare wave of emotion for him given the context of the situation, according to Dan Woike of The L.A. Times:
“I’m really not really an emotional person,” Reaves said of the moment at the scorer’s table. “… There was a quick second where I thought I might tear up. And that doesn’t happen a lot. But it’s Christmas…”
What really got to Reaves was knowing all the love and support her had from family watching around the globe:
“I know all my people back home are locked in and sitting around with family watching the game and that means a lot to me,” Reaves said. “I say it all the time, I’m not necessarily supposed to be in this position. I got lucky, got my foot in the door and took advantage of an opportunity. And now I’m sitting here … on Christmas with a game-winner and a triple-double, and really the win that matters the most to me.”
Throughout the first three years of his career, Reaves has shown himself to be immensely humble and grateful for the life that he has. To go from undrafted free agent on a two-way contract to full-time starter on a four-year, eight-figure contract in less than three full years is simply incredible.
And Reaves has earned every minute of it, and has never taken any of it for granted. He has worked hard and has put the Lakers in a better position for it as well. There is a reason that even with a head coaching change, Reaves remained the non-LeBron James and Anthony Davis focal point of the offense.
Austin Reaves wouldn’t be included in any Zach LaVine trade
Since returning from his back injury, Austin Reaves has helped stabilize the Lakers, most recently hitting a game-winner to beat the Warriors on Christmas Day.
The Lakers have looked like a solid team on most nights, though the perception around the league is they’re still a couple of pieces away from being true contenders. Reaves looks the part of a core member of the roster considering how much he’s responsible for on offense, but it still hasn’t kept his name out of trade rumors.
So far, Los Angeles has been adamant about keeping Reaves as he’s on a team-friendly deal and arguably the Lakers’ third-best player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Because of that, though, teams are going to continue to ask for Reaves in any deal.
For example, the Chicago Bulls are open for sale and while they have a couple of players that would be of interest to Los Angeles, most notably Zach LaVine, although reports indicate that Reaves won’t be included in any packages.
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Los Angeles Lakers(96) - Minnesota Timberwolves(103)
