The Los Angeles Lakers without LeBron James is hard to imagine. But Austin Reaves is not letting that missout turn fatal for the team. Although his shooting efficiency has been a bit inconsistent this season, Reaves has been increasing his scoring average for three straight games. And his shining has earned him praise from the basketball community.
Skip Bayless recently took to his X(formerly Twitter) and put out his honest reaction to Reaves’ performance from the last game. The Arkansas-born shooting guard really stole the spotlight on Christmas Day with a game-winning layup against the Golden State Warriors. He followed that up with one of the best performances of his young career. With LeBron James out with an illness during Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, Reaves rose to the challenge.
“No LeBron, no problem for Lakers. Austin Reaves: 26 and career-high 16 assists. He is LEGIT,” Bayless wrote in his tweet.
No LeBron, no problem for Lakers. Austin Reaves: 26 and career-high 16 assists. He is LEGIT.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 29, 2024
However, this was not the first time the NBA analyst sided with the Lakers star. Bayless took to social media to declare Reaves as the team’s “closer“ following his spectacular game-winning layup against the Warriors. However, during the Lakers-Kings matchup, the 6 ft 5 in tall guard put out 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting. The day was special for him as he registered a career-high 16 assists and pulled down six rebounds in a nail-biting 132-122 win.
Austin Reaves Was Not Satisfied Despite A Career High Night
Austin Reaves really shined in the Lakers’ victory over the Kings. However, instead of celebrating his accomplishments, Austin was his own biggest critic. He called himself out some “dumb turnovers” that he wished he could take back, especially in the final stretch of the game.
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“I just thought it was sticking within our system. I had some dumb turnovers. And to be honest, I didn’t play very well in the fourth quarter, but a win’s a win, and that’s all that matters in this league,” Reaves said as per Fadeaway World.
Austin Reaves tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 29, 2024
26 PTS
6 REB
16 AST (career-high)
Joins Magic and LeBron as the only Lakers to post those numbers in a game. pic.twitter.com/r2PvRzkmhr
It’s pretty telling of his character; he gets that numbers are great, but at the end of the day, it’s all about helping the team win. With LeBron James sitting this one out, Reaves stepped up in a big way alongside Anthony Davis, who also had an outstanding night and ensured the Lakers kept their momentum going strong.
What really stood out was the easy chemistry between Reaves and Davis, especially when he set him up with those pocket passes that led to high-percentage shots.
Austin got full support from AD. Davis continued to establish his dominance in the paint against Kings center Domantas Sabonis. He scored a game-high 36 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and handed out eight assists. Davis’s aggressive style drew fouls, forcing Sabonis into early trouble that ultimately led to him fouling out in the fourth quarter. The Lakers also got solid help from Rui Hachimura, who contributed 21 points and hit four of five from beyond the arc, while Dalton Knecht added 18 off the bench.
