Fifth-year guard Austin Reaves’ incredible stretch of offensive play as the Los Angeles Lakers’ leader without star teammates LeBron James and Luka Doncic continued into Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. While his streak of scoring 40-plus points came to an end, he still scored 28 points along with a game-winner to beat the buzzer.
AUSTIN REAVES ICE COLD GAME WINNER pic.twitter.com/yrAMavatuH
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) October 30, 2025
Reaves also put together perhaps the best passing performance of his NBA career to date. He tied a career-high with 16 assists while turning the ball over just thrice.
At one point right around the beginning of the game on Wednesday, NBA legend Kevin Garnett hypothesized with a post on X that Reaves might be eyeing a role as a No. 1 option somewhere in the league.
Shidddd…. Idk, Austin Reaves might be auditioning for a number 1 spot somewhere in his mind. Check the history without Luka and Bron. Let’s see…
— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) October 30, 2025
For as phenomenal as Reaves has been to begin the campaign for Los Angeles, his usage rate will eventually drop. Once Doncic and James are back on the court and healthy, Reaves’ role will change on the offensive side of the ball, which is just the cost of doing business on a star-studded team. Doncic is a generational offensive talent while James is arguably the best NBA player ever.
Reaves will have to play for another one of the league’s teams if he wants a chance to become a legitimate top option. The concern for Lakers fans is that he will indeed have an opportunity to depart Los Angeles in the not-so-distant future if he chooses to.
The undrafted 27-year-old has a player option attached to his current contract for the 2026-27 season, and all signs point to him declining that option and becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. After all, if Reaves did accept that player option, he would get paid less than $15 million in the 2026-27 campaign, and he’s clearly worth far more than that.
However, the Lakers should do all in their power to make sure that folks won’t see Reaves as a No. 1 option elsewhere anytime soon. He has the tools to be a key part of Los Angeles’ offensive attack for years to come, and though he has room for improvement on the other end, he and Doncic could form a strong foundation for the Purple and Gold for a long time.
Reaves reportedly has an affinity for the “Lakers experience” and wants to contend. Hopefully, those factors keep him around.