Austin Reeves is currently spending his life with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers are facing injury issues early in the 2025-26 NBA season, with LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Marcus Smart and others reporting injuries.
As a result, head coach JJ Redick was forced to turn to Austin Reaves as his first choice. Well, there’s no stopping Reeves at this point, so the decision paid off.
Prior to this, Reeves set a career-high in scoring, dropping 51 points against the Sacramento Kings. This time, he outperformed the Minnesota Timberwolves, but as a playmaker.
To be exact, Reeves had 28 points, 1 rebound, and 16 assists for the Lakers in his second game of the season against the Timberwolves.
Reaves struggled with his shooting, making 9 of 25 from the field, including 3 of 11 from the 3-point line.
Despite his struggles, Reeves made the most important shot of the night, a buzzer-beating floater. He helped the Lakers defeat the T-Wolves 116-115.
Even James and Doncic were in awe of Reaves’ win. The Lakers currently hold the sixth seed in the Western Conference, with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses this season.
Reaves’ win and performance shocked the NBA community, primarily among former Lakers players.
Oklahoma City Thunder star Alex Caruso had a “cold” reaction to Reeves’ performance in “X.”
“Extremely cold lol,” Caruso tweeted.
Meanwhile, New York Knicks star Josh Hart wrote, “AR is so hard.”
Dwight Howard, the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers champion and recent Hall of Fame inductee, also couldn’t contain his excitement after watching Reeves’ performance.
Overall, Reeves has earned the respect of current and former Lakers members just five games into the 2025-26 season.