A CELEBRATORY MOOD carried Austin Reaves down the ramp at Madison Square Garden and into the New York City night after a monumental road win. It was just after midnight on Feb. 2.
The Los Angeles Lakers -- fueled by 60 combined points from Reaves (27) and LeBron James (33) -- had just knocked off a New York Knicks team that was riding a five-game win streak. L.A. had done so without its best player, Anthony Davis, who had left the trip early to receive treatment for an abdominal strain.
"Me and Bron were talking in the locker room after the game," Reaves told ESPN. "It was like, if we play like that and add AD to that, we could be dangerous."
As the Lakers' bus navigated through midtown Manhattan traffic, Reaves pulled out his phone to scroll Instagram. He came across a post citing ESPN Shams Charania's report that the Lakers had just traded Davis and Max Christie -- fresh off 15 points against New York -- to the Dallas Mavericks in a deal for Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic.
"First thing, I was like, 'Oh this is [false]," Reaves said. "'He got hacked.'"
Instantly, Reaves' phone began to flood with incoming texts. "The group message started going crazy," he said. "AD, texting the [team] group message, was like, 'They traded me.' And I was like, 'OK, AD is bulls----ing with us.' He's a kid at heart, had his fun. He literally has a prank TV show. I thought it was one of those."
Then he received a message from Lakers assistant coach Beau Levesque.
"Bro ...," Levesque messaged.
Reaves called Levesque immediately.
"This ain't real," Reaves said, a statement posing as a question.
"Umm ... I think it's real," Levesque said, sitting on the Lakers' last bus to leave MSG, about 15 minutes behind Reaves. "I'm sitting right by Max."
The tectonic-shifting swap shocked the NBA, altered the career trajectories of two all-time greats in Davis and Doncic -- and could prove to be a divergent moment in the fates of the two franchises in Dallas and L.A.
Already it has reframed Reaves' role, who in four short years has gone from being an undrafted college prospect to L.A.'s third option, first behind the championship-proven duo of Davis and James and now behind James and Doncic.
L.A. is 26-8 when Reaves scores 20 points or more this season and 18-18 when he doesn't. Beyond bearing the burden of establishing the Lakers' ceiling with his offense, his defense has often been a target for opposing offenses. With the postseason reputations of James and Doncic solidified, and their respective production nearly a constant, it's Reaves who is the Lakers' swing piece this spring.
With a third ball-dominant star added to the mix, the 26-year-old Reaves' role and skillset could've naturally been duplicative and diminished.
Instead, the team has elevated him to the same perch as the 26-year-old Doncic and James in both promotion and in practice. At L.A. Live last week, digital billboards advertising Crypto.com Arena premium playoff seating featured three players in bright gold uniforms: James, Doncic and Reaves. And on the court, since Doncic's debut on Feb. 10, James, Doncic and Reaves are the only trio in the league to each average 75 touches per game, per Second Spectrum tracking.
"In the monthlong process of the Luka Doncic trade discussions, of course, you're thinking about the players you may possibly have to trade in a deal like that, AD and Max Christie," Rob Pelinka, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager, told ESPN. "[But] one of the people I was thinking of the most in my head was just AR, because I knew how close he had gotten to Max and AD and I knew bringing in another primary ball handler would have implications for him."
Traditional roster construction suggests balancing talent between the backcourt and the frontcourt as most beneficial, but Pelinka insisted he knew Reaves would be just as important in this new iteration of his team.
And as indispensable as he has been for a Lakers team with real championship aspirations, how he performs in the playoffs will be his first real audition for his next role: Doncic's right-hand man whenever the 40-year-old James calls it a career.
"My theory is basketball geniuses that love to win, find ways to work and click together," Pelinka said. "And we knew LeBron was a basketball savant, wants to win at the highest level. Obviously Luka Doncic, basketball savant, wants to win at the highest level. And AR is coming into his own there. He gets the game, he sees it. He can fit, really, with anybody."
SIX WEEKS AFTER the trade, L.A. was matching up against its recent nemesis in the Denver Nuggets -- the team that has tormented the Lakers in the regular season and bounced them from the playoffs the past two years -- and with only one starter available to play. It was Reaves. And Brian Reaves, Austin's dad, was tuned in from his home in Batesville, Arkansas, to his son's solo starring act.
While Brian watched in the living room, his wife, Amanda, had the local news on in the bedroom, monitoring an ongoing tornado warning in the area. "It was funny because she would be like, 'Hey, babe, you might need to come in here and check out the weather,'" Brian told ESPN. "And I'm like, 'I'm locked into this game.'"
With James, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes leaving the team's trip early to return to L.A. to treat injuries, and Doncic watching from the sidelines in street clothes, Austin went head-to-head with the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic.
And he outplayed him.
Reaves attacked the opportunity to shoulder the extra load, slingshotting around defenders as he racked up 37 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds and 4 steals -- the last one coming when he stripped the ball from Jokic in the final minute and sped down the court to score a go-ahead layup.
Seeing Reaves' production, it would've been difficult to tell he was playing the second leg of a back-to-back to end a long trip, or that he had his left wrist heavily wrapped in ice after the game the night before in Milwaukee, or that he was leading a group of players in Dalton Knecht, Shake Milton, Christian Koloko, Markieff Morris and Bronny James who had barely played together before and have rarely shared the court since.
"I just want to win and I feel like anytime I'm on the court versus off the court, I have a belief I literally can change the game," Reaves, who played in all 82 games last season, told ESPN.
The Nuggets used an 8-0 run in the final 48 seconds to escape with a victory, but Reaves' performance stuck with the Lakers, including first-year coach JJ Redick. Just two days prior, Redick had asked to meet with Reaves after he shot 3-for-14 in Brooklyn and the Lakers lost to a hapless Nets team. The Nets game had followed two subpar nights for Reaves in which he'd gone 2-for-13 in an OT win against the Knicks and 5-for-12 in a loss to the Celtics two nights later.
"[I] was basically like, 'You're too good to have a blank stare on your face in a game,'" Redick told ESPN about the check-in. "'And you're too good to be shooting poorly and playing poorly and not have any leadership on the court. You're just too good. You can't get away with that anymore. You're too important and you're too good.' And he took that well."
Redick has met with Reaves at several critical junctures throughout the season. After Reaves scored 38 points against the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 17, Redick sought to reinforce Reaves' approach. "Some ownership on the court, some leadership on the court, needing more of that," Redick told ESPN of their conversation.
Late last month, the Lakers had lost four of five games and were struggling to recapture their midseason momentum heading into a crucial slate of games, starting with a visit to the Memphis Grizzlies. Redick met with Reaves, Doncic and James together, imploring the three offensive leaders to play with more force, pace and creativity -- particularly in the half court. Their combined capabilities should always make defenses uncomfortable when they work together. "Exhaust every option," he told them.
"The meeting was just still trying to build that chemistry amongst the three of us," Reaves said. In the five games since that meeting, the Lakers are averaging 121.7 points per 100 possessions when Doncic, James and Reaves share the court, going 4-1.
By every measure, Reaves has already maximized the expectations put on an undrafted player. In Friday's win over the New Orleans Pelicans, Reaves scored 30 points for the fourth time in his past five games and set a franchise record with 15 3-pointers in a two-game span.
"He's the best undrafted player since Ben Wallace, and that guy's a Hall of Famer," a Western Conference executive told ESPN.
Even with Doncic on the team, Reaves has consistently had the ball. His usage rate since Feb. 10 is 23.6% -- higher than it was from the beginning of the season through Dec. 28, before L.A. traded point guard D'Angelo Russell to the Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith (21.8%).
And Doncic's addition has made opponents assign their strongest defenders to him, allowing Reaves to feast on more favorable matchups. In the two games against Chicago in late March, Reaves was guarded by either Kevin Huerter or Coby White on 78 possessions, while Doncic was manned by Josh Giddey for 71 possessions, per Second Spectrum. Two days after that second Bulls game, against Houston, Doncic faced Amen Thompson for 33 possessions, while Reaves was defended by Fred VanVleet for 34.
As a result, Reaves has become even more assertive on offense; he has averaged a career-high 3.1 isolation plays per game this season -- and 4.5 isos per game since Doncic arrived.
Reaves has proved he's a legitimate NBA player. His next challenge is establishing himself as a core piece on a championship team -- and that he's worth the requisite investment. The four-year, $54 million extension Reaves signed in 2023 has become one of the best value contracts in basketball. He is eligible to sign a four-year, $89.2 million extension this summer, which would replace his $14.9 million option year in 2026-27 with Year 1 of the extension. He could also wait until the summer of 2026 when he'd be eligible for a four-year, $98 million extension, or opt out of the final year of his contract, become an unrestricted free agent and be eligible for 25% of whatever the salary cap is set at for 2026-27.
In any case, the Lakers want to maintain their stake in the Austin Reaves business.
"The way he plays the game, fights for every ball, sacrifices his body, when you see somebody like that, you can't help but get drawn in and cheer for them," Lakers governor Jeanie Buss told ESPN. "And he was that from day one ... he just keeps proving himself over and over and over again. ... We're just lucky to have him."
Reaves is used to proving himself -- and breaking down stereotypes.
"You know, as a white guy in the NBA, I sometimes look at white players and I'm like, 'They're not very good,'" Reaves told ESPN. "So, it's a stigma that I think is real."
Redick, who played 15 years in the league, understands. "I think every guy in our shoes has experienced some level of this where you're going to be tested," Redick told ESPN. "And truthfully, no matter how many times you pass that test, you're going to be tested again."
Reaves passed that test with James during training camp of his rookie season, when he was originally signed to a two-way contract.
"I saw that early, man," James told ESPN. "When we picked him up, I went back and started watching his Oklahoma highlights and stuff and seeing the way he could handle the ball and his creative [side], to be able to create shots off the bounce. His competitive fire, his drive. ... I could see it. I could see he had a spirit about him. He had an energy about him."
Pelinka said by the time James hosted his minicamp before the start of training camp that year, Reaves had shown that he belonged.
"You could just tell the game clicks for him," Pelinka said. "He has that utility about him. And I remember as we were making roster cut decisions, even saying to LeBron, 'I think he's the one. We have an open roster spot.' And I just remember quickly LeBron was like, 'I totally agree.' So you can just see it. There's something about him."
Doncic's arrival meant another power player Reaves had to impress. And he wasted no time doing so.
"Basketballwise, I already knew he was that good. But just being around it and seeing him do that, it was [a] higher [realization]," Doncic told ESPN of watching Reaves score a career-high 45 points in a win over the Pacers shortly after the trade deadline. "I mean, the expectation is that high. I think he has the potential to be an amazing player. He already is."
THE LAKERS' SPOT in the loaded Western Conference is tenuous. With four regular-season games left -- a road back-to-back against Oklahoma City and Dallas, followed by a home game against Houston and the road finale in Portland -- they have a 1½-game lead on Denver for the 3 seed but could still finish anywhere from third to eighth (ESPN's BPI gives the Lakers an 82.3% chance of securing the 3 seed). Still, this can't compare to the jam the team faced in early December.
A four-game trip in which L.A. lost the middle two games against Minnesota and Miami by a combined 70 points capped a 2-7 stretch. At that time, it was Reaves who lifted the team out of its funk.
He'd missed the trip because of a left pelvic bruise, staying in L.A. to rehab. When the team returned, there was a rare reprieve in the schedule because of the NBA's in-season tournament. The Lakers hosted the Trail Blazers on Dec. 8 and then didn't play again until Dec. 13 in Minnesota.
Redick used the week to return to the practice court, hoping to salvage a season that was starting to get away from him. The Lakers were 10th in the West -- and falling.
"I just remember when everybody got back, everybody was kind of just in a fog," Reaves said. "So I randomly was like, 'F--- it, I'm going to put a headband on and see if I can make somebody smile.'"
Reaves has long known his messy brown hair flopping up and over the white fashion accessory came off as more court-jester than GQ, but he was OK with that.
"It definitely was a tough time for us," Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt told ESPN. "Coming off of that road trip, it was pretty nasty, so it kind of lightened the mood up a little bit. But that's just him. He's a good guy, good teammate. Always positive and just being a light and a joy to our team."
The mop-and-flop reveal worked as intended.
"They all just looked at me like I was crazy and just started laughing," Reaves said. "I was like, 'Well, I accomplished my goal.'"
He has kept it on since -- and L.A. has gone 34-19. Reaves had the headband on when he scored a last-second layup to beat the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day. He had it on when he had his career night against the Pacers. He had it on when his dad tuned in to see him battle a three-time MVP. He had it on when he scored 31 in a win in Memphis last week after Redick gathered him, James and Doncic for that meeting to get on the same page offensively.
"I think for all three of those guys, they all have an understanding," Redick said. "Those two guys trust AR, for sure."
Two days before the team took the court in Memphis, L.A. lost a shocker in Chicago when Giddey hit a half-court heave at the buzzer.
In the visitors locker room at FedEx Forum, Reaves noticed James had a new look: He had a headband on too.
"He looked at me and said, 'Oh, you wearing a headband?'" James said. "I said, 'Yeah, you know, s---, I've been a little bit out of rhythm. I need to change the energy in this b----.'
"And I said, 'It worked for you.'"
If the Lakers hope to make a long playoff run this spring, they'll need Reaves to maintain the level of play that has fueled the team's rise up the Western Conference standings.
"The stuff he's been doing the last couple months has been amazing," Vanderbilt said. "He's damn near kind of transitioning into one of our captains. Obviously we got Bron and Luka, but they keep giving him more responsibility and he's proving it time and time again that he's built for it."
ESPN Research's Matt Williams contributed to this report.