We are accustomed to seeing Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves with a headband when he steps onto an NBA court now, but he didn’t wear one in the first three seasons of his career. As for why Reaves chose to start wearing a headband, he recently spoke about it with KRCR News Channel 7’s Keith Jouganatos.
“We were struggling as a team,” Reaves said. “I think we had lost three or four in a row, and we were in a bad spot, so I just wanted to brighten the mood, lighten the mood a little bit, and I put a headband on. I looked crazy. And we started winning games, so I was like, you know what? At my expense, I’ll keep the headband if we can keep the vibes high.”
Reaves wore the headband in a game for the first time in the Lakers’ 97-87 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 13, 2024. He had just returned after missing five games due to a pelvic contusion, and that defeat dropped the team to 13-12 on the season.
The Lakers seemed listless, but then their fortunes turned. They won five of their next six games, and Reaves decided the headband was going to stay. The Lakers would eventually finish the season with a 50-32 record, which wasn’t something many would have seen coming with how they started.
That 2024-25 season was also the one where Reaves, who went undrafted in 2021, showed he could be more than just a feel-good story. He averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game for the Lakers.
You wanted to see if Reaves could take another leap in 2025-26, and he did. The 28-year-old put up 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. The numbers would have looked much better had Reaves not gone down with a Grade 2 left calf strain at the end of 2025. He wasn’t quite as effective when he returned, but still played fairly well.
Reaves’ good play put him in a position to command a massive contract in 2026. He was drawing interest from rival teams, and the Lakers ended up agreeing to give him a four-year, $185 million deal. That’s a lot of money. Reaves is going to be smart with his money, and he hopes to set up his family for many generations.
Austin Reaves On Lakers’ Free Agency
While the Lakers kept Reaves, they have parted ways with every other player who was hitting free agency, including LeBron James. The roster has completely changed now, and Reaves was asked how excited he is by it.
“Very excited,” Reaves said. “Obviously, you never wanna see people that you’ve been with for years leave. And obviously, I don’t have all the time in the world to talk about how great LeBron is and how much he means to me and my career. But I’m gonna miss all those guys. But it’s a good opportunity for us to kind of turn the page and see what’s next.”
Reaves has spoken about just how disappointed he was when he found out James was leaving the Lakers. These two had grown close during their time together. James was an incredible mentor to Reaves, and he might not be the player he is today without that guidance. We’ll get to see these two face off against each other for the first time next season, and you’d imagine that would be a bit weird for both of them.
As for who the Lakers have added in free agency, it’s Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, and Kevon Looney. They will likely add one more, and it will be interesting to see how far Reaves and Luka Doncic can take this team.
