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On Wednesday night, Lakers guard Austin Reaves sank the game-winning shot as time expired, staving off a comeback surge by the Minnesota Timberwolves, 116-115. Julius Randle and the T-Wolves, playing without Anthony Edwards, roared back against the Lakers to take a late 115-114 lead. Reaves, 27, was called up to hit the game-winner for the Lakers. Reaves rose up with ice in his veins and buried a cold-blooded mid-range jumper that silenced the Minnesota crowd. Credit to the kid for his Mamba moment. WATCH: The little-known Los Angeles Lakers are starting the year off with plenty of injuries. Key among them are LeBron James, who’s yet to play a game, and Luka Doncic, leaving third option Austin Reaves at the helm. How’s Reaves holding up? Surprisingly well, actually. The Lakers are 2-1 with Reaves at the wheel. Just a few nights earlier, on Sunday, Oct. 25, against the Kings, Reaves blew up abruptly and scored a career-high 51 points. Reaves followed it up the following night with a 41-point performance against the Trail Blazers. Now he’s got a game-winner for the year. Reaves finished with 28 points and 16 assists on Wednesday. Through the first five games of the 2025 season, Reaves is averaging 34.2 points, 10 assists and 5.6 rebounds. Discussions of Reaves being the third-best option in the league have gained steam as he channels a Chris Bosh-type of leadership from his Miami Heat days, maintaining the ship while the team’s top two stars are out. An undrafted guard, Reaves came a long way before getting called up for a Lakers game-winner. By 2023, the Lakers signed Reaves to a four-year, $54 million contract after showcasing great chemistry in LeBron’s system. Reaves is expected to draw a sizable deal this year, netting potentially 30 million plus per season. Slight questions hang over whether the team can capitalize on value and trade the guard. Ultimately, a trade seems unlikely given Rob Pelinka’s history as general manager. LeBron James’ future at age 40 remains uncertain as he continues to recover from a sciatic nerve injury. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic, 26, has been sidelined since Oct. 24 with a sprained left finger and a contusion on his lower left leg, an injury expected to keep him out for about a week. Reaves will be a name to watch if the Lakers can put together a playoff run during LeBron’s final years. But if the season slides the other way, he could become the latest example of an overpaid Lakers stat stuffer. Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
