Reaves went from a two-way player to a standard contract before his first game, and in four years became an All-Star caliber talent who is the legitimate No. 2 scoring option on a Lakers team that features LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
And earlier this year, he hit the game-winning bucket to clinch an improbable road win against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game where Doncic, James, Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent were all out. Pelinka recently talked about his admiration for Reaves and told a story from that night in Minnesota, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Since we drafted Austin, just knowing he’s a winner, to see how he’s developed under our system. How he’s gained his confidence. Being in the Minnesota game, he hits the game-winner and him walking off the court — and I traveled and I was there — you tell me about golf, I told him ‘What’s more amazing, a hole-in-one or a game-winner in the NBA?’ And he said well, I don’t have a hole-in-one yet, so I actually took a picture of him hitting the game-winner and put it on some golf balls and gave it to him and said ‘When you make a hole-in-one, you can answer my question.’
Reeves is an avid golfer and has had some incredible public moments on the course. But that’s nothing compared to what he’s already accomplished in the NBA, even though he’s still relatively early in his career and just hitting his prime years.
And with Reeves technically in a contract year – with him but certainly opting out of the final year of his current deal – given that his relationship with Pelinka is strong, it’s another point to show that his future is likely to be with the purple and gold.
Austin Reeves is having fun with Luka Doncic and LeBron James
Austin Reaves has continued to rise through the NBA ranks and should now be considered a star on a Lakers team that also includes Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Reeves took a leap the season before, but the 2025-26 season represents his best campaign yet as he has been one of the best offensive players in the league by nearly every metric.
The rising star guard had a stellar performance in the Lakers’ recent win against the LA Clippers, scoring 31 points, most of which came in the fourth quarter.
Doncic and James also had big scoring nights and Reaves attributed all of his success to playing basketball the right way.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? This is the best way to watch player interviews, get exclusive coverage from events, attend live shows and much more!
<a href=