It was an eventful second season for Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves, to say the least. From becoming a vital rotational piece in his first postseason run, to signing a four-year contract this offseason, playing for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, and now having his own signature shoe.
Reaves recently signed with the Chinese brand Rigorer, which has given the Arkansas native the opportunity to be one of the few players to have his own signature shoes. The first new colorway has been unveiled and it’s called ‘Ice Cream,’ set to be released on Aug. 11 on Kicks Crew.
The Lakers guard made an appearance on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson to talk more about the feeling of having his own signature shoe:
“There’s multiple times where I’m sitting there by myself, playing a game or something, I’m just like ‘this shit can’t be real.’ I think there’s mid-twenties guys in the league that got their own shoe and for me to be one of them is special. I never take that for granted.”
It seems that everything is happening fast for Reaves as after just completing his second season in the league, he has had many accomplishments and opportunities thus far. Now with his shoe releasing, this will be a building block for his career and hopefully more releases down the line.
Heading into next season, the 6’5″ guard is expected to take on more of a responsibility with scoring and handling the ball, which could lead to another jump in production similar to what we saw in the second half of the 2022-23 season.
With the FIBA World Cup play kicking off on Aug. 25 and Lakers preseason on Oct. 7, fans will get the opportunity to see Reaves rock his new signature shoes and the varying colorways that come with it, potentially influencing fans to get a pair of their own.
Spurs considered offering Austin Reaves $21 million annually
Heading into free agency, there was expectation that there would be a competitive and expensive market for Reaves. No offer sheet materialized for the restricted free agent, however, and Reaves signed back with the Lakers for $13 million annually. Even though he never got an offer sheet though, it was recently reported that the San Antonio Spurs considered $21 million annually but did not due to the notion of the Lakers were matching any offer sheet.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!