Lakers guard Austin Reaves averaged 20 ppg during the team’s 2026 playoff run.
The Los Angeles Lakers are keeping a key piece of their core in place.
Per multiple reports, Lakers swingman Austin Reaves plans to sign a four-year, $185 million deal to stay with the team. The final season in 2029-30 will include a player option and keep him with the franchise for the foreseeable future.
Reaves is declining his $14.9 million player option for the upcoming season to reach this deal with the team that signed him out of Oklahoma after the draft in 2021. The shifty guard has grown into one of the NBA’s most effective scorers and playmakers, increasing his scoring average in every season of his five-year career.
Breaking: Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves intends to sign a four-year, $185 million maximum contract to return to the franchise, with a player option for the final season in 2029-30, sources tell @shamscharania.
Reaves lands the richest contract for an undrafted player in… pic.twitter.com/jsdIHdOkaJ
— ESPN (@espn) June 24, 2026
The Lakers today secured Austin Reaves’ commitment on a new deal after rising interest from Detroit, league sources say.
I’m told the Pistons began maneuvering to make a real run at Reaves that would’ve required, among other moves, trading Isaiah Stewart for needed flexibility. https://t.co/cYZLzjSheJ
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 24, 2026
Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in 2025-26, but played in just 51 games thanks to an oblique injury and a strained left calf that sidelined him for 19 straight games from Christmas to February.
He missed the final five games of the regular season and the first four games of the first round because of strained oblique muscles. He came off the bench in Game 5 against Houston and averaged 20 ppg, 4 rpg and 5.8 apg in the playoffs as the Lakers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semfinals.
After the series loss, general manager Rob Pelinka made it clear Reaves likely wasn’t going anywhere, saying the team and Reaves had both already essentially decided to work out an extension. Reaves grew up in Arkansas as a Lakers fan, and he is a fan favorite in Los Angeles.
“He started his journey here as a Laker, and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker,” Pelinka said. “And we feel the same way.”
Reaves was injured in the same game in which NBA scoring champion Luka Dončić strained his right hamstring. Dončić did not appear in the playoffs, but the Lakers had an admirable run behind the play of Reaves and legendary forward LeBron James.
The top scorer in league history is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, so James can choose his destination if he postpones retirement for another year — although not every team has the payroll flexibility to pay him something near his worth. The Lakers have significant salary cap room and many decisions to make, but they’re hoping James will choose to remain a part of their attempt to build a championship-contending roster around Dončić.
The Lakers won 53 games and the Pacific Division title despite losing Dončić and Reaves to injuries in the same game on April 2. While the season ended with a four-game sweep at the hands of OKC, the Lakers are headed into the offseason with optimism about their ability to get even better next season — particularly if James sticks around.
The Lakers’ other unrestricted free agents include forward Rui Hachimura (who likely earned a big payday with his strong postseason play after long stretches of offensive passivity in the regular season), shooting guard Luke Kennard (a late-season trade pickup who made big contributions while Reaves was injured) and backup center Jaxson Hayes.
Starting center Deandre Ayton has an $8.1 million player option while veteran guard Marcus Smart, another big-time playoff contributor, has a $5.4 million player option that he seems likely to decline for a bigger deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
