LeBron James and Austin Reaves have formed a strong partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers over the past few years, and they are arguably the main reasons the team is firmly in playoff contention right now.<\/p>\n
James typically doesn’t place much trust in younger teammates, but it was clear early on that Reaves had earned that trust. Despite going undrafted, Reaves quickly secured a spot on the Lakers’ roster, eventually becoming a regular rotation player and a starter. During the 2023 playoffs, it was evident that Reaves had progressed when James began deferring to him late in games, which benefited the Lakers.<\/p>\n
As Taylor Geas of Lakers.com reported, Reaves initially didn\u2019t understand why James was hard on him early in his career but later realized it was for his benefit:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give Bron credit. From day one, I remember my rookie year, he was on me for a two-week stretch, and I was getting frustrated. I would make mistakes in games, and he\u2019d critique me a lot. I got really frustrated because it felt like he kept coming after me. But not in a bad way\u2014he just wanted me to improve,\u201d Austin said. \u201cI went to Phil Handy and said, \u2018He needs to cut me some slack, I\u2019m still learning.\u2019 And Phil told me, \u2018The only reason he\u2019s hard on you is because he believes in you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom day one, he\u2019s been a major reason I\u2019ve kept improving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I knew,\u201d LeBron replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, you saw it?\u201d he was asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it. I saw it from the start. I knew he could play.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Luka Doncic now joining the Lakers, they have three trusted perimeter players who can make smart decisions with the ball, whether as scorers or playmakers.<\/p>\n
Though it will naturally take some time for them to find the best chemistry, the quick bond between James and Reaves should help expedite the process of integrating Doncic.<\/p>\n
Austin Reaves believes LeBron James has nothing left to prove Austin Reaves and LeBron James recently led the Lakers to a win over the Portland Trail Blazers, combining for 72 points on the second night of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n
James scored 40 points for the second time this season, and after the win, Reaves said that the 40-year-old superstar has already proven everything he needs to.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust having him out there, his approach to the game\u2014like you said, he really doesn\u2019t have anything else to prove. If people still think he does, they’re (Michael) Jordan fans. It\u2019s incredible to see his routine. He was in here before the game, him and Mikey (Mancias) working hard. He never stops, which is impressive because sometimes I just want to rest and take a nap, and he\u2019s over there doing some kind of treatment. So, shout out to him. Pretty good player.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LeBron James and Austin Reaves have formed a strong partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers over the past few years, and they are arguably the main reasons the team is firmly in playoff contention right now. James typically doesn’t place much trust in younger teammates, but it was clear early on that Reaves had earned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2586],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-26650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","tag-lebron-james"],"yoast_head":"\n