Austin Reaves Expected to Make $30 Million per Year on Next Contract, Wants to Spend Entire NBA Career With Los Angeles Lakers

Reaves is expected to decline his 2026-27 player option with the Lakers worth $14.9 million so he can sign a new contract with the franchise next summer.

An undrafted guard, Reaves averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.3 blocks in 73 games last season while shooting 46.0% from the field, 37.7% from beyond the arc and 87.7% from the free-throw line. He was the Lakers’ third-leading scorer behind superstars Luka Dončić and LeBron James.

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games despite having Dončić, James, Reaves and home-court advantage. Reaves averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.6 blocks in the series while shooting 41.1% overall, 31.9% from 3 and 85.7% from the foul line. He played through a serious toe injury.

Reaves, 27, has career averages of 14.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks with the Lakers, who have declined multiple trade offers for the Arkansas native. The Oklahoma product is expected to start next season alongside Dončić, Rui Hachimura, James and Deandre Ayton.

Reaves will make $13.9 million in 2025-26. He signed a four-year, $53.8 million contract with the Lakers in July 2023.

Los Angeles currently has the sixth-best preseason odds to win the 2026 championship, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Timberwolves. The franchise hasn’t won a title since 2020.

The Lakers reached the conference finals in 2023, but they got swept by the Denver Nuggets.