The Los Angeles Lakers were hard at work during practice on Monday with their regular-season opener on the horizon. At one point, Austin Reaves decided to practice 1-on-1s with someone who appeared to be a Lakers coach, and it went as you might imagine.
Reaves scored repeatedly on the coach, who tried his best to stop him, but to no avail. The guard even managed to cross him up at one point and hilariously pointed at him as he lay on the floor.
Austin Reaves dropped his coach at practice. 🤣🔥
(via @JordanRichardSC)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 20, 2025
Reaves wanted to make sure that was caught on camera, and you better believe he is not going to let the coach forget about this. While some might take offense to his actions, it was all just in good fun.
Reaves appears to be in great spirits these days, and he impressed during preseason. The 27-year-old averaged 20.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, while shooting 61.9% from the field.
With LeBron James on the sidelines due to sciatica, the Lakers need Reaves to get off to a fast start to the regular season. Based on all that we have seen so far, it sure looks like he’ll be doing just that.
Steve Nash Picks Austin Reaves As His First-Time All-Star For 2025-26
Reaves has improved significantly since the Lakers brought him in as an undrafted free agent back in 2021. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2024-25, and Hall of Famer Steve Nash thinks he will take another leap in 2025-26. Nash went with Reaves when asked by Bleacher Report to name a player who will be an All-Star for the first time in 2026.
“I think Austin Reaves might make his first All-Star Game,” Nash said. “I just think he continues to get better. The impetus for them to take another step is gonna push him to continue to grow, and I think we’re seeing him offensively really make strides.”
If James, who is only expected to return in mid-November, ends up missing a lot of time with injury this season, then Reaves might have a chance of making the All-Star team in the West. Being promoted to the second option on offense behind Luka Doncic means he will likely put up much better numbers than last season.
If Reaves does bump up his averages and the Lakers win at a high rate, then he could potentially become an All-Star. It is unlikely, but you can see a pathway for it to happen.
Reaves’ first test will come against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday at 10 PM ET.
