Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss Makes Austin Reaves Admission

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Garret Schnitker | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 5:54 PM ET

Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in a 126-99 road win Sunday afternoon. The loss for OKC marked just the second time all season they suffered back-to-back losses.

Doncic set the tone for the well-balanced attack of Los Angeles by supplying 30 points, seven rebounds, and six assists with five 3-point field goals made. Since the blockbuster trade where the Lakers traded Anthony Davis to acquire Doncic amongst others, more reports have come out from both sides explaining the entire thought processes.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has recently detailed the difficulties of creating and completing trade packages, especially one of this magnitude.

In an article by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Pelinka explained that it was Austin Reaves that he was reluctant to trade away, regardless of who would come in return.

"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, [he] wants to win at the highest level. Obviously, Luka Doncic, [is a] basketball savant, [and he] wants to win at the highest level. And [Reaves] is coming into his own there. He gets the game, he sees it. He can fit, really, with anybody."

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss shared this sentiment, admitting how lucky the Lakers are to have Reaves.

"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," she 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."

New story: Adding another ball-dominant guard in Luka Doncic hasn’t diminished Austin Reaves’ ascent in L.A. one bit. “My theory is basketball geniuses that love to win, find ways to work and click together,” Rob Pelinka told ESPN. https://t.co/M1JLIAhrNs
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 8, 2025

It appears that Pelinka made the right decision to keep Reaves because his continued growth has been made evident by the team’s 26-8 record when he scores 20+ points (via ESPN).

The 26-year-old guard looks like he will become the right-hand man of the Lakers’ new global superstar for years to come. This season Reaves is set to average career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, minutes, field goals made, and three-point field goals made per game.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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