The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 103-99 on Saturday night. It was a quality win for LA, as LeBron James led the way with 32 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. D'Angelo Russell added 20 points while Austin Reaves finished with 16 points for the game. The Lakers have now won three games in a row and four of their last five contests overall, something Reaves commented on following the win.
"You just got to believe in the process of what we're doing," Reaves said on Saturday night, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. "And doing things the right way. If you do things the right way and you lose obviously you're not happy but you can build on the thing that you were doing."
The Lakers had previously struggled before their recent impressive stretch of games. Reaves admitted that LA's previous slump was obviously far from ideal, but he still believes in the team. The Lakers are currently playing well and are hoping to continue to build momentum as the 2024-25 season moves forward.
Austin Reaves' 2024-25 season with Lakers
Who is Austin Reaves? Is he a respectable role player? Is he an emerging star?
The 26-year-old has played an important role for LA in the 2024-25 campaign up to this point. He is currently averaging a career-high 17.2 points per game on 43.7 percent field goal and 35.1 percent three-point shooting. Reaves is averaging 5.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals per outing as well.
Reaves may not be a star, but he is a reliable player. He has continued to improve throughout his four seasons in the NBA. Reaves has started every game this season, but he also offers versatility as a player who can start or come off the bench.
All eyes are understandably on LeBron James and Anthony Davis. After all, Davis is one of the best big men in today's NBA and LeBron is arguably the greatest player of all-time. Still, the Lakers' depth needs to step up, and Reaves is leading the way in that sense.
Austin Reaves and the Lakers will look to add another victory to the win column in a Monday night game against the Detroit Pistons at home. Los Angeles will then head north to play the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day, a matchup that certainly projects to be exciting with stars such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry preparing to go head-to-head.