Austin Reaves went off against the Sacramento Kings, playing without LeBron James and Luka Doncic. His 51-point game helped the Lakers win 127-120 in a nail-biting finish. Reaves has been consistently building his image as a trustworthy scoring option and tough defender. Today’s performance was a culmination of that.
The 27-year-old undrafted shooting guard not only put up 51 points, but also eleven rebounds, and nine assists, while shooting 12-of-22 from the field, and 6-of-10 from the three-point line. The Kings entered the game confident, having their full squad healthy and aiming to take this one home easily as the Lakers played without their top two stars. But Reaves made sure he made them both proud to call him a teammate.
“50-piece nugget!!!!! That boy AR TOOOO TOUGH!!” James posted on X.
“Goat,” Doncic summed up Reaves’ performance on his Instagram.
Luka Doncic just called Austin Reaves the GOAT on IG 😭🐐 pic.twitter.com/Eq4RDtIg02
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) October 27, 2025
James pointed out how the Lakers have had back-to-back outings with exceptional individual performances, resulting in team wins.
“Damn, that’s crazy, we almost had back-to-back 50 balls. Damnit Don!! Sick back court!” James said through X, referring to Doncic’s 49-point game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Kings kept it close, with the two teams exchanging leads multiple times, and there was a clear momentum shift at different points. Former Laker and Kings’ point guard Russell Westbrook tried his best to take over the night and win it for Sacramento.
But Reaves had other plans. He was excited to be the primary scoring option today, and it showed. After accepting defeat, Westbrook was gracious and came down to acknowledge Reaves’ career-high game by sharing a cordial moment post-game.
Austin Reaves gets the game ball after dropping 51 POINTS on the Kings 😭💜
Lakers teammates showing him some huge love for carrying the team with no Luka & no LeBron pic.twitter.com/B9nma1LPtg
— LakeShow Highlights (@LSH_lakeshow) October 27, 2025
Before today’s game, the Lakers’ head coach, JJ Reddick, was overjoyed to play Reaves as the primary option, but even he wouldn’t have predicted that something like this could happen.
“He’s ready for every single moment that comes; it’s a pleasure to be around him every day,” Reddick said about Reaves during the post-game presser.
Earlier this summer, Reaves had a chance to sign a $89.1 million, four-year extension, but he declined it. The idea was that he would skip extending it this year, and with James’ salary expected to be off the salary cap next season, Reaves could potentially earn himself a massive payday. He could potentially get $40 million per year offers if he enters free agency.
But considering that he plans to play for the Lakers in the long term, he needs to prove that he is an integral part of the Lakers and not an afterthought in case the stars aren’t there. This season could make him or cost him $50 million, and it looks like he plans to play it that way.
