Lakers Star Gets Brutally Honest About Austin Reaves: ‘I’m Not Going to Lie'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated Apr 6, 2025 3:18 PM ET

Austin Reaves is having a career year for the Los Angeles Lakers and one of his teammates loves the way the guard is playing.

During an interview with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, Los Angeles small forward Rui Hachimura spoke about how well Reaves is playing right now.

"I like his confidence and his aggressiveness," Hachimura said. "We need him playing like that. I think he's playing really free right now, and we love it. I just want him to keep going."

The Lakers acquired Hachimura from the Washington Wizards during the 2022-23 season. Hachimura admitted to Trudell that he had no idea who Reaves was when he landed with the team.

"I'm not going to lie, the first time I got here I didn't know him," Hachimura said. "I think he was injured, and the first game he was back against Milwaukee I was like, 'Woah ... he's got it.' Since then, literally, he's just (improving) every game, every year. It's fun to play with him."

Reaves is an undrafted player. He joined the Lakers in 2021 and has improved his game every season. The shooting guard averaged 7.3 points in 2021-22, 13.0 points in 2022-23 and 15.9 points in 2023-24.

This season, Reaves is averaging a career-high 20.2 points for the Lakers while shooting 45.8% from the field, 37.2% from beyond the arc and 88.2% from the free-throw line.

With Reaves, LeBron James and Luka Doncic leading the way, the Lakers hope to win the championship this season.

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

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