The Lakers star guard spoke highly of his teammate’s efforts across this new campaign
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić gave Austin Reaves credit for his scoring and overall play this season following the team’s win over the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 28.
“I think [Reaves is] playing like one of the best basketball players in this league,” Dončić said during the postgame press conference. “Just the way he scores, he makes plays for others through the game, it’s very good. And I’m just happy he’s on my team and that’s probably the last compliment I will give him.”
Reaves has come alive more than he ever has this season, as he is averaging a career high with 28.5 points per game, which is just over eight points higher than his average last season.
Even with Dončić scoring 35.1 points a game and leading not only the Lakers in scoring but the entire league in scoring, and not to mention future Hall-of-Famer and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in LeBron James coming back from injury and being in the lineup again, Reaves has found a way to differentiate himself and not let the two stars’ presence affect the heater he’s been on to start this 2025-26 season.
Against the Mavericks, Reaves scored 38 points on 12-for-15 shooting from the field and 6-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc. He also made eight of his nine shots from the charity stripe and tallied eight rebounds in the contest.
Austin Reaves' Continued Success This Season
Reaves has scored 30 or more points in five games so far this season. He also has just one game where he scored below 20 points, which only further proves that he is a bona fide star for this Lakers team, and on top of that, is a budding star amongst some of the more talented young players across the entire league.
Reaves has shown time and again that he can serve as a perfect counter to Dončić, and in some cases, even step up as the main act in a given situation. The recent Mavericks game was a perfect example of the duo affecting the game in more ways than one, and both players finished with high scoring totals. Dončić had 35 points and 11 rebounds in the contest.
Now, Reaves and Dončić, as well as James, Ayton, and Hachimura, who make up a powerful starting lineup for Los Angeles, will work to sustain what is now a six-game winning streak for the Lakers.
Next up on the schedule is the New Orleans Pelicans, who, heading into their matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 29, had only won three games on the season.
The Lakers and Pelicans will face each other at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 30.