It's hard to believe now considering how far he's come, but Austin Reaves used to be a benchwarmer who got little-to-no minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers . Moreover, Reaves even started the 2024-25 season on the bench — with head coach JJ Redick inexplicably using him as the team's sixth man behind D'Angelo Russell. But those days are long gone, as Reaves has now established himself as a legitimate star , as he carried the Luka Doncic and LeBron James-less Lakers to a 127-120 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night with a 51-point masterpiece.

Reaves was in control of the Lakers offense all night long, as in addition to dropping a career-high in points in a single game, he also shot the ball exceptionally well, going 12-22 from the field and 6-10 from deep despite drawing all

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