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Head coach JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on from the bench.
The red-hot Los Angeles Lakers (6-2) will look to extend their four-game winning streak when they face the San Antonio Spurs (5-1) on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, as many as six players on the roster are on the injury report, including Austin Reaves, who is questionable with right groin soreness.
Injury report versus the Spurs [H/T Jovan Buha]:
Jaxon Hayes (right ankle sprain) is PROBABLE
Austin Reaves (right groin soreness) is QUESTIONABLE
OUT:
LeBron James (right sciatica)
Maxi Kleber (abdominal muscle strain)
Adou Thiero (left knee surgery recovery)
Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain)
The loss of Reaves would be a devastating blow for the Lakers. The fifth-year guard has played in seven of the eight Lakers games thus far, carrying the team’s offense when LeBron James and Luka Doncic have been sidelined.
Austin Reaves Leading the Lakers
Reaves leads the Lakers in total points (218), assists (65), three-pointers made (21), and plus/minus among starters (+46), while shooting an impressive 48.9% from the field. With James (0 games) and Doncic (four games) dealing with injuries, Reaves has almost singlehandedly carried the Lakers’ offense, best evidenced by his USG%.
The 27-year-old has seen his USG% skyrocket to 29.5 this season, a marked increase from his 23.1 last year and 19.8 in the 2023-24 season. Reaves’ year-over-year improvement in every metric has made him one of the most coveted free agents entering the 2026 class. With Reaves expected to turn down his player option for the 2026-27 season, some analysts feel he could earn a contract north of $40M per season.
Austin Reaves Due for Big Pay Day
NBA insider Marc Stein recently said that Reaves has shown the ability to carry an offense by himself, and seems to play better without Doncic or James on the floor.
“He looks great next to Luka, he looks great without Luka,” Stein told the All NBA Podcast. “You see the two of them, they’re getting along so well. There truly is already a friendship blossoming there. And so the Lakers, obviously, they would love to see this continue.”
However, Stein felt Reaves was better off remaining with the Lakers, the team who took a chance on him as an undrafted player in 2021.
“There is no sense at this point that Austin Reaves is looking anywhere else,” he added. “I think if we had Austin Reaves on this show and got candid answers from him about his future, I think he would say that he wants to be in Laker land.”
Reaves is averaging 31.1 points, 9.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals through seven games thus far. He is almost a lock to make an All-Star team if he continues to build on his career-best season.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
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