Los Angeles Lakers star guard Austin Reaves will enter the biggest season of his career. Reaves will enter the fifth season of his career and will look for a massive contract at the end of it.
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He will enter the offseason as an unrestricted free agent (or at least that is the expectation), and will seek a ton of money. In the meantime, the 26-year-old will look to carry the load, alongside Luka Doncic, as the team will enter the season without their superstar forward, LeBron James.
Reaves will be the second-best player on the team to enter the season and has shown that he is capable of taking his game to new heights. While Reaves has proved a ton of doubters wrong, former NBA veteran Evan Turner is not bought in on Reaves.
In a recent appearance on the “Open Floor Podcast,” with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, Turner was blunt in his comments about Reaves, saying he cannot be a big piece on a championship team.
“You have Austin Reaves, he’s very talented, but if you’re talking championship aspirations, that can’t be your third best,” Turner said.
“There has to be a secret weapon or a sixth man killer.”
In the podcast, Mannix was more concerned with Reaves’ fit alongside Doncic.
“I think there is a question about the fit of Austin Reaves with Luka Doncic there handling the ball as much as he is,” Mannix added.
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Questions still linger about how well Reaves and Doncic will mesh as a duo, but the start of this season should offer plenty of clarity. Both are best with the ball in their hands, but it is clear that Doncic has earned the right to handle the ball the majority of the time.
The Arkansas native is expected to hit unrestricted free agency next summer and could be in line for a deal worth upward of $30 million per year if things go his way.
Reaves has cemented himself as one of the league’s top 50 players, but whether he can be a true difference-maker on a championship-caliber team is still uncertain. Last season was Reaves’ best, averaging 20.2 points per game, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 73 games of action.
We’ll get our first glimpse of Reaves and the Lakers on Oct. 21, when they open the 2025-26 season at home against the Golden State Warriors.
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