Austin Reeves shares a candid confession about LeBron James’ chemistry

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers shook off the bitter taste of their disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with a dominant 111-88 victory over the Washington Wizards who had their head coach JJ Redick noted that the Lakers are headed in the right direction. During the Lakers’ win, Austin Reaves found LeBron James for a monster alley-oop resulting in an and-one for James.

The nailing the poster prompted a witty reaction from Bronnie James on the bench, and after the game, Austin Reaves talked about the continued development of his on-court chemistry with LeBron James that dates back to when Reaves first joined the Lakers.

“I’ve said it since I got here, he was the first person I wanted to build a relationship with, on the pitch, off the pitch. . .I kind of feel like if I went to play basketball with my high school teammates, I think you would still have that chemistry because you played so many games together,” Reaves said. “Just that experience of playing side by side for four years, I kind of understand where he wants the ball and it’s easier to throw it in the air and he goes and gets it.”

The alley-oop was just one of a couple in recent games that Reaves has thrown to James. During the Lakers’ win against the Brooklyn Nets last Friday, Reaves found himself on a break with James. Instead of trying to score himself, he threw the ball to the 40-year-old who threw down a thunderous dunk.

There was a little more to the dunk against the Wizards as James not only dunked on Jonas Valanciunas, but also drew the foul. After the game, Reaves also talked about how the game played out and how he wasn’t really sure he was going to make it.

“I got an offensive rebound, maybe I fouled to get an offensive rebound, but they didn’t call it. And I saw Bronn full of steam running down the lane,” Reeves said. “When I threw it, I didn’t see Valanciunas there, so when I threw it, I turned around and looked and was like ‘s**t.’ And then he nailed it and I was like, OK, it all worked out.”

Austin Reaves’ continued development with the Lakers

Now in his fourth season with the Lakers, Reaves has cemented himself as the team’s starting point guard. The move was made clear when Redick decided to move D’Angelo Russell to the bench earlier this season, then it was made official when The Lakers traded Russell to the Brooklyn Nets.

Since increasingly taking on a bigger role with the ball in his hands, Reaves has responded with several huge games in which he has reached double figures in assists. He is too had a few chats as it continues to adapt to this new role with increased use.

Reaves appeared in 36 games for the Lakers, averaging just under 35 minutes per game. He averaged a career-high 18.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals on 44 percent shooting from the field, 36.2 percent from the three-point line and 84.1 percent from the free throw line.