Austin Reaves struggled as the Los Angeles Lakers lost 108-90 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Paycom Center on Tuesday. Reaves had arguably the worst playoff game of his career as the Lakers fell down 1-0, and LeBron James was asked how they could help him find his rhythm in his postgame media session.
“He was out a month,” James said, via Spectrum SportsNet. “We know he’s gonna make shots and make plays, but that’s tough, you out a month towards the end of the season. Obviously, we’re trying to fast-track him getting back on the floor and doing the things he was doing before the injury or whatever the case may be.
“But he was out a month, so rightfully so if he has some games where he’s missing shots or whatever the case may be,” James added. “But his presence alone helps us, no matter what.”
Reaves had suffered a Grade 2 left oblique strain in the Lakers’ 139-96 loss to the Thunder on April 2. The 27-year-old only just managed to return for Game 5 in the first round against the Houston Rockets on April 29.
Reaves was a bit up and down in both games he played against the Rockets. The hope would have been that those games would help him shake off the rust and be close to his best against the Thunder.
Unfortunately, Reaves was closer to his worst in Game 1. The undrafted guard had eight points (3-16 FG), five rebounds, six assists, and one block. For some context on just how poorly Reaves shot the ball, his 18.8% field goal percentage is the lowest by any Laker in a playoff game in the last 35 years (min 15 FGA), according to ESPN Insights.
Reaves also committed four turnovers here, and this was a problem in the regular season as well. He averaged 4.7 turnovers per game in his three regular-season outings against the Thunder in 2025-26. This vaunted defense has made life miserable for a lot of players, and he is just another who continues to struggle to find solutions.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick expressed confidence in his postgame press conference, though, that Reaves will bounce back.
“He didn’t play well, but he’s gonna bounce back,” Redick said, via Spectrum SportsNet. “He’s a great player.”
Again, if we go back to the regular season meetings, there is reason to believe Reaves isn’t going to show his best in this series. He averaged 14.7 points on 42.9% shooting from the field against the Thunder. Those struggles were why there was concern regarding Reaves coming into this series. He did little to dispel them.
As for James, he had 27 points (12-17 FG), four rebounds, six assists, and one steal on the night. The 41-year-old played well, but the Lakers don’t stand a chance in this series if Reaves struggles to this extent.
Austin Reaves Isn’t Making Excuses For His Struggles
To Reaves’ credit, he wasn’t trying to make any excuses for this play after the game. He was informed in his postgame media session that James spoke about the difficulty of finding rhythm after missing time and asked how long it might take him to get comfortable.
“I mean, nobody cares about that,” Reaves said, via Spectrum SportsNet. “I got to go out there and play better.”
That’s the right attitude. Reaves also gave an assessment of his performance and spoke on what he has to do better in Game 2.
“Obviously, the easy thing is to make more shots,” Reaves said. “I got to my spots multiple times and just missed a couple of easy shots. But for the most part, gotta limit the turnovers; they pressure the ball really well. Just gotta give us an opportunity to get a shot on goal every possession.”
It will be interesting to see how Reaves fares the rest of the way. He, of course, will be eligible to sign a five-year, $241 million deal this offseason if he opts out of his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27.
Reaves is expected to opt out, and the Lakers will have a big decision on their hands after that. We have done a full breakdown of whether Reaves should get that max contract. If he continues to struggle, though, those negotiations won’t go nearly as smoothly as both parties would have hoped.
