The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, but Austin Reaves doesn’t believe they are far from being champions. During an interview with Lakers Nation, Reaves stated the team only needs a couple of additions to reach the mountaintop.
“I think when you go back to the stretch of basketball we played for that two months, I think that the whole world thought [winning the title] was a possibility,” Reaves said. “And then like I said, we just didn’t play the way we wanted to play in the playoffs, unfortunately.
Things happen, you learn from them,” Reaves continued. “And like I said, I think with a couple of additions here and there, that I do believe that we can go win the championship.”
Reaves, who averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2024-25, was referring to a stretch from late January to early March, where the Lakers went 18-3. They looked like one of the very best teams in the NBA at the time, but things started going wrong after that.
The injury bug struck, and the Lakers, who had improved to 40-22 thanks to that stretch, would go 10-10 in their last 20 games of the regular season. They still ended up being the third seed in the Western Conference with a 50-32 record and were being talked about as a contender, as they had gotten relatively healthy.
The Lakers were the favorites heading into their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it became clear fairly quickly that they were in trouble. The Timberwolves blew them out in Game 1 in Los Angeles and would go on to win the series in five games.
Reaves’ struggles contributed to the Lakers’ early exit. The 27-year-old averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game against the Timberwolves. He was incredibly inefficient, too, shooting 41.1% from the field and 31.9% from beyond the arc.
The loss to the Timberwolves also raised questions about Reaves and Luka Doncic as a backcourt duo. They were hunted defensively all series long and were not able to hold their own.
Having two bad defenders in the backcourt isn’t a recipe for success, but Reaves dismissed the criticisms regarding him and Doncic. He reckons things were blown out of proportion.
While Reaves wasn’t interested in listening to any talk about the Lakers needing to break up this backcourt duo, he did take responsibility for the series loss to the Timberwolves. He stated that the finger of blame can be pointed at him and vowed to be better next season.
More production out of Reaves certainly would help the Lakers, as would a couple of additions, as he pointed out. For starters, they need a starting caliber big man.
It was evident that head coach JJ Redick had little to no faith in Jaxson Hayes, as he averaged just 7.6 minutes per game against the Timberwolves. Hayes is expected to leave the Lakers this offseason, and they’ll be looking to bring in an upgrade.
A wing defender would also be a welcome addition, and it will be interesting to see who the Lakers manage to bring in. With the right acquisitions, this team could make a lot of noise in the 2026 playoffs.
