Austin Reeves is telling the truth about his approach amid LeBron James’ injury absence
The the absence of LeBron James by mid-November, a sore spot for the Lakers will be highlighted. however, Austin Reaves reminds the media that the Lakers must move forward together per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“We have to do it as a collective,” he said. In addition, Reaves mentioned his growth from his freshman year to where he is now.
“My rookie year, I literally never spoke,” Reaves said. “I didn’t talk to anyone.”
Austin Reeves talks about not putting too much of LeBron’s absence on his shoulders (“We’ve got to do it as a team”) while also growing as a leader in his 5 years in LA (“My freshman year, I literally never talked. I didn’t talk to anybody”) pic.twitter.com/VTDvFaR3Ze
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 17, 2025
Reaves is entering his fifth season with the Lakers. He scored a career-high 20.2 points per game last year. In addition, Reaves averaged 5.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. Entering this year, Reaves did will not sign a contract extension anytime soon.
Over the summer, he turned down an $89.2 million contract extensionthus putting him in position to seek a new contract in 2026. In July 2023, Reaves signed a four-year, $54 million contract with the Lakers.
The Lakers want to come back losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. In addition, Luka Dončić will mark his first full season this year.
Their final preseason game will be Saturday against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers will open the regular season on Tuesday, October 21 against the Golden State Warriors.
How the Lakers can start over without LeBron James
All in all, not all is lost for the Lakers early on. Even without LeBron, they still have some notable players who can set the tone from the start.
One of them is Reaves. He can step up and set an example for goal scoring and playmaking. According to StatMuseReaves averaged 27.9 points, 8.3 assists and 6.6 rebounds in 9 games without James.
Additionally, Doncic can step up the offense and take control of the offense with his explosive dynamic that mirrors aspects of LeBron’s game. Meanwhile, Jake LaRavia, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura have versatility on both ends of the floor.
All in all, the Lakers still have the strength to stay in a good position.
2025-10-17 21:30:00
