After averaging 32 points over the first six games of the season, Lakers guard Austin Reaves has seen his average slightly decline as the team gets healthier.
With five-time All-NBA First Team guard Luka Doncic back to full health, Reaves hasn’t been tasked with shouldering the responsibility of being the Lakers’ primary ball handler.
All-Star power forward LeBron James’ return from injury only further eats into the amount of shots Reaves will be putting up on a nightly basis.
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Since James returned Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, Reaves is averaging 24 points across two games, shooting 50 percent from the field while making only 2-of-12 three-point attempts. He’s added five total assists and 15 combined rebounds between James’ two games back in action.
Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas said on his show “Gil’s Arena” that he thinks Reaves’ shot selection will improve as he gets used to being back on the court with James.
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“Austin Reaves, if you’re averaging 28 while shooting from 31 percent from three, you’re going to take some better shots now that I’m on the court,” Arenas said on his podcast.
“He’ll go down like 3 or 4 points on his average, he’ll get back to normal. But he’ll still gonna get his money over the summer.”
Kenyon Martin believes Austin Reaves has the bag secured 💰
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/LaNVZOVNZ6
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 20, 2025
Reaves is likely going to be one of the top free agents next offseason, as he is predicted to decline the Lakers player option to become an unrestricted free agent. He could stand to sign a five-year deal worth over $240 million with the Lakers, or Reaves could depart Los Angeles and join a different team for a four-year, $178.5 million deal.
Reaves’ Massive Projected Upcoming Payday
Regardless, Reaves is going to be making nearly quadruple his current salary in just a matter of months. While his scoring might decline now that James and Doncic are back, his audition as a team’s number one option through the first few games of the season will be enough to earn him a massive pay day.
“[Reaves] will go down like three or four points on his average, he’ll get back to normal,” former NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin said on Gil’s Arena. “But he still is going to get his money over the summer, there’s no question about it. Because he’s already proven what he can do it already.”
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