LOS ANGELES — Austin Reaves had never seen the Crypto.com Arena concourse before Monday. The second-year guard has only entered the arena through the player entrance, which is through a private garage on the side of the arena. From there, players walk directly through the bowels to the locker room, weight room or court.
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“I had no idea what it looked like until today,” Reaves told The Athletic while walking through the concourse on his way out of the arena.
With the Lakers and Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission hosting the 18th annual Lakers All-Access event at Crypto.com Arena, Reaves, along with teammate Lonnie Walker IV, former Laker champions James Worthy, Pau Gasol, Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, Robert Horry, Kurt Rambis, Sasha Vujačić and Slava Medvedenko, and governor Jeanie Buss, were present to speak and take pictures with fans.
Net proceeds from the event — which included a tour of the Lakers’ locker room, playing on the Crypto.com arena floor, and panel discussions in a banquet setting — support the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation and the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, both non-profit organizations.
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss just presented Slava Medvedenko with replacement championship rings at a Lakers fan event after he sold his to help his home country of Ukraine fight the war against Russia. pic.twitter.com/qOdRWomV5w
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) January 24, 2023
Reaves was stationed with Rambis, posing for pictures and greeting fans for 30 minutes. As he walked around the concourse, he was mobbed by fans asking for photos, autographs and when he’d be back on the floor. (Reaves has missed the last nine games with a left hamstring strain.)
“Soon,” Reaves repeatedly said with a smile.
The Laker faithful have taken a special liking to Reaves, with the undrafted sophom*ore earning “M-V-P” chants from the crowd for his timely shots, precise passes and gritty play. He has an everyman demeanor — he wore a black Lakers sweatshirt, dark gray sweatpants and Shadow 2.0 Jordan 1s to the event, with his hair ever-tussled — that belies his status as one of the best basketball players on the planet.
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“It’s special just being in the position that I’m in,” Reaves said. “Honestly never thought that I’d be at especially an organization like this. All the support that we get from the fans. It’s special just to talk to them and take pictures. Have fun.”
This season, Reaves is averaging 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 48.8 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from 3 and 89.6 percent from the free-throw line. He’s emerged as a closing lock alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with his shooting, passing, defense and decision-making proving crucial in crunchtime.
Reaves said his hamstring is progressing well. He sprinted for the first time on Monday, a solid step toward his impending return.
“We’re going forward, moving forward,” Reaves said of his injury. “Progress. Feeling good.”
Hours earlier, the Lakers made one of the first moves of the trade season by sending Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks to the Wizards for forward Rui Hachimura. Reaves faced Hachimura twice last season when the Lakers played the Washington Wizards, and he came away impressed by his new teammate.
Reaves said the Lakers hadn’t yet talked as a team because Monday was an off-day for the group. While he’s sad to see Nunn go because he’s “one of the boys,” he’s excited about the versatility Hamichura, who primarily splits his time at both forward spots, will bring to the group’s previously undersized frontcourt. Reaves envisions head coach Darvin Ham playing Hachimura at all three frontcourt positions.
“That’s something that was our Achilles’ heel — offensive rebounding and rim protection without (Davis),” Reaves said. “But getting another guy like that, you have both options. You can play small ball, if you want to, or you can go bigger with Rui at the three. It gives our team a different look, a different feel, and it’s something that we can do in games to change games if they’re not going our way.”
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The 22-25 Lakers are coming off two of their most impressive wins of the season: a fourth-quarter comeback win against the Grizzlies on Friday and a comeback win against the Trail Blazers on Sunday. The win over Portland came after Patrick Beverley galvanized the team with a halftime speech, spurring a rally from a 25-point halftime deficit.
“Pat was just being Pat,” Reaves said. “That’s what he’s known for. He’s a great teammate. He doesn’t care about all the statistics. He wants to be a plus in the plus-minus and that’s really it. He cares about winning, and you can tell by the way he plays. The message was really just, ‘Play with confidence. Don’t defer. Do what you do and play the game that you’ve always played.'”
The Lakers are 8-4 in their last 12 games and 10-9 since Davis’ right foot injury, firmly remaining in the hunt for the Play-In Tournament. Ham recently said the coaches are standings-watching on a daily basis as the Lakers try to climb out of their one-game hole to make the Play-In Tournament and two-game hole to get into the playoffs. Reaves, for his part, said he didn’t even know the Lakers seed as of Monday evening.
The Lakers are rounding into form at the right time, with the opportunity to still improve the roster ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline. Hachmiura could make his Lakers debut Wednesday vs. San Antonio, while Davis, Reaves and Walker are expected back within the next week or so.
“It’ll be nice,” Reaves said of the Lakers being at full strength soon. “For the first time all year, we’ll have hopefully everybody available. It just gives a different outlook in games and situations in games where we can switch things up if everybody is healthy. And, obviously, getting AD back is gonna help a lot.”
(Top photo of Austin Reaves and Thomas Bryant: Brett Davis / USA Today)
Jovan Buha is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Lakers. Before joining the company, Jovan was an NBA editor at ESPN.com. His prior stops also include ESPN Los Angeles, FOX Sports and Grantland. Jovan is a Los Angeles native and USC alum. Follow Jovan on Twitter @jovanbuha
