What a summer Austin Reaves is having. The Los Angeles Lakers guard had his feet kicked up on a boat alongside his bikini-clad girlfriend this Labor Day weekend. Talk about a guy ready to take on more responsibilities.
He landed a new four-year deal to stay in LA for the next few years and, after initially agreeing to $185 million, reportedly agreed to trim it to a $180 million deal for the good of the team.
Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers runs out of the tunnel before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 3 of Round Two of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 9, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. (NBAE via Getty Images)
The discount, if you want to call it that, gave the Lakers a little more financial flexibility. What a guy. What a team player. What a leader.
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There will be no LeBron James on the Lakers next season for the first time in Reaves’ NBA career. But his pal Luka Doncic is still there and the undrafted veteran knows how to play the game at a high level.
Austin Reaves #15 of the Los Angeles Lakers warms up before Game 6 against the Houston Rockets during Round 1 of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on May 1, 2026, at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. (NBAE via Getty Images)
You take a look at taking less money and his work this weekend with his longtime girlfriend Jenna Barber in Mexico and I don’t know about you but I see a guy worth every bit on the $180 million.
LUKA DONCIC AND THE LAKERS DID SOME TEAM BUILDING AT SLOVENIAN NIGHTCLUB WHERE A PLAYBOY MODEL WAS HANGING OUT
Reaves, as an undrafted player, knows the value of hard work. He’s turned himself into a solid NBA player. A solid NBA player who averaged 23 points a game last season. It’s time to put the ball in his hands a few more times a game.
It’s also time for him to be one of the leaders his teammates can lean on from time to time. You want a guy who is considering the full picture when making decisions. Not a guy worried about his own numbers.
Jeanie Buss and Austin Reaves attend a 2026 NBA Summer League game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on July 14, 2026. (Getty Images)
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Someone who can see himself being part of something bigger than himself. A true leader who knows you need a boat, you need bikinis, and you need to hit the water over Labor Day Weekend.
I’m expecting big things from Austin Reaves in Los Angeles next season based on his performance this weekend.
