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But there’s one player recently that has left him in awe: Austin Reaves.
In his post-game press conference following the Los Angeles Lakers 125-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs, the Slovenian didn’t hold back in his praise of his teammate, questioning how a player of his caliber flew under the radar.
“I mean, this guy has scored 30 in four games in five days,” said Doncic. “He’s an amazing player. For him to go undrafted is unbelievable. It’s not easy to go undrafted and play at this level. It’s amazing to just be by his side.”
Reaves has seen himself evolve beyond being a role player and become one of the Lakers’ most important starters, especially in recent games with the absence of LeBron James. Reaves admitted he needs to perform better after the Laker’s disappointing loss to the Brooklyn Nets on March 10th. Since then, he’s averaged 30.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 7.0 APG.
Even though Doncic didn’t have his best shooting night against the Spurs, he created space for players like Reaves to find open shots and put up impressive numbers yet again.
“I thought we played hard — stuck to the gameplan,” said Reaves after the game. “We continue to build a chemistry and I think you can tell by the way we’re playing. Everybody’s sharing the ball. Luka obviously creates so much havoc for team’s defenses that the majority of the time you have to blitz him and play a 4-on-3. It’s just a fun brand of basketball.”
Reaves signed a two-way contract with the Lakers in August 2021. His impressive performances in the Summer League where he averaged 15.2 PPG and earning All-Summer Second League Team honors convinced the Lakers to convert his deal to a standard NBA contract in September 2021. Since then, he’s improved his averages year-over-year and has evolved into a solidified starter alongside James and now Doncic.
