Austin Reaves has his best season in the NBA this year. The Los Angeles Lakers guard averaged a career-high 20.2 points while shooting 46.0% from the field, 37.7% from beyond the arc and 87.7% from the free-throw line.
Behind Reaves, Luka Doncic and LeBron James, the Lakers were the third seed in the West this year. They were projected to compete for the championship.
However, Los Angeles lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games.
This is a big offseason for the Lakers. Not only is Doncic eligible to sign a contract extension, but Reaves can also sign a new deal with Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15)
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Reaves, though, has been urged by Bobby Marks of ESPN to bypass signing an extension this offseason and decline his 2026-27 player option so he can enter unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2026.
"Reaves should bypass signing an extension and enter free agency in 2026," Marks wrote. "Declining the $14.9 million player option in 2026-27 would give him more financial options on a fresh contract with the Lakers."
Reaves is an undrafted player. He joined the Lakers in 2021 and played so well that Los Angeles rewarded him with a four-year, $53 million contract in the summer of 2023.
The 27-year-old Reaves will make $13.9 million next season. According to Marks, Reaves' salary for next season is "below the average player salary and nontax midlevel exception."
Reaves has career averages of 14.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists with the Lakers. He played college basketball at Wichita State and Oklahoma.