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Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers are one of the best duos in the NBA this season.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the best teams in the NBA this season because of how good Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have been as a duo. Coach JJ Redick has shared the secret to how Doncic and Reaves coexist to help the Lakers succeed.
Speaking to reporters, via Lakers Nation, after his team’s 133-121 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, Redick was asked about how good Reaves has been alongside Doncic. The second-year coach credited the duo for being in sync on offense and Reaves just knowing when to attack.
“I think for him there’s a cadence right now to his game. He’s got a great understanding of when he has a good matchup. He’s got a great understanding of how to play with Luka. And so the flow state that every athlete kind of searches for, he’s just in that right now. And I mean, maybe it is easy for him, but it doesn’t look easy. But he’s making it look like it’s normal in some ways. I would call it normal, not easy. And that’s a testament to how good of a basketball player he is,” Redick said.
Reaves was coming off a dud performance in the playoffs, so there was some kind of pressure for him to bounce back. Doncic, on the other hand, had a high expectation because of what he showed at the 2025 EuroBasket.
Doncic and Reaves Making History Together
In the Los Angeles Lakers’ win against the New Orleans Pelicans, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves became just the fourth duo in NBA history to score 30 or more points each in three consecutive games.
They joined George Gervin and Mike Mitchell of the 1984 San Antonio Spurs, Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette of the 2010 Golden State Warriors and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard of the 2023 Milwaukee Bucks as the only duos to achieve the feat, as per NBA.com.
Doncic finished the game with 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, while Reaves had 33 points, five rebounds and eight assists. They developed the chemistry while LeBron James missed the first 14 games of the season. They also beat the Pelicans without James, who received his mandatory rest in the front end of a back-to-back.
Doncic Gives Amazing Compliment to Reaves
While Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves like to troll each other in interviews, the two players have amazing chemistry on and off the court. Doncic broke the trolling for a few seconds after giving Reaves the highest compliment after the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Dallas Mavericks last Friday.
“I think he’s probably one of the best basketball players in this league. Just the way he scores, he makes a place for others through the game. It’s very good. I’m just happy he’s on my team. That’s probably the last compliment I’ll ever give him,” Doncic said, via Lakers Nation.
According to Polymarket Hoops, Doncic and Reaves are the highest-scoring duo in the NBA this season. They are averaging a combined 63.9 points per game. Both are also averaging career highs in points individually at 35.1 points per game for Doncic and 28.8 points per game for Reaves.
Juan Paolo David Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He’s currently based in the Philippines. More about Juan Paolo David
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