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Austin Reaves was asked what he has learned from playing alongside Walker Kessler at Lakers practice on Wednesday.
He began waxing poetic about Kessler’s care factor — before abruptly cutting himself off.
Reaves lost his train of thought.
Something stunning caught his eye. He came to a full stop. He had to acknowledge it.
“Luka’s made five f–k,” Reaves said before pausing to collect himself. “Five half-court shots in the last 30 seconds. So, this is ridiculous. And he just made another one. I hate him.”
Reporters swung their heads in time to witness Doncic’s final halfcourt shot swish through the net.
In other words, it was a typical Wednesday in Laker Land.
This is the type of thing that can happen when Doncic plays around after practice. He led the league in scoring last season with 33.5 points per game.
Last March, he averaged 37.5 points, 8 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game before suffering a strained hamstring on April 2 that sidelined him for the entire postseason.
Doncic is back. He’s healthy. And he has apparently found his stroke.
So much so that he made Reaves, a star himself who signed a four-year, $180 million contract in July, feel the need to take stock of the moment.
It was especially striking because Reaves and Doncic have a brotherly rapport in which they love to tease one another. They joke about beating one another in golf. They throw towels at each other during their TV interviews. They’ve used the words “idiot” and “stupid” to describe one another.
So when one of them heaps praise on the other one, it means something.
All jokes aside, they’re good friends who have palpable on-court chemistry.
In fact, Doncic made it abundantly clear to Lakers’ brass that he wanted to keep playing alongside Reaves, who turned down his $14.9 million player option in June. The Lakers then signed Reaves to the richest contract in NBA history for a player who went undrafted.
Last season it became obvious that Doncic and Reaves soar together on offense.
When LeBron James was sidelined at the start of last season because of sciatica, Doncic and Reaves led the Lakers on a 15-4 run. And when James missed a smattering of games in March, Doncic and Reaves helped ignite what went on to become a 16-2 run.
This season, there are hopes that Reaves will develop into an All-Star. As for Doncic? He finished fourth in MVP voting last season behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic.
Here’s to guessing he’s going to try climb higher up that ladder this season as he attempts to lead the Lakers to their first championship since 2020.
The Lakers are now Doncic’s team after James left in free agency for the 76ers.
And if Wednesday’s theatrics are any indication, he’s more than ready to put on a show while embracing that challenge.
