Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is off to a strong start in the 2025-26 season, and it’s caused some speculation about his future in Los Angeles.
Reaves can opt out of his contract following the 2025-26 season to become an unrestricted free agent, and there may be teams with cap space that will try to sign him away from L.A.
However, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, there is “no sense” that Reaves is looking anywhere other than L.A. at this time.
“There is no sense at this point that Austin Reaves is looking anywhere else,” Stein said. “Going undrafted and becoming a Laker has been tremendous for Austin Reaves.
“So, if we’re trying to read the landscape – again, we are just at the end of October. Free agency is a long way away. We still have a whole season in front of us. But I think if we had Austin Reaves on this show and got candid answers from him about his future, I think he would say that he wanted to be in Laker land.”
Reaves has appeared in seven games this season and is averaging 31.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from 3-point range for the Lakers.
He’s had to carry L.A. at times through the team’s first seven games, as star forward LeBron James (sciatica) has yet to make his season debut while star guard Luka Doncic missed three games due to injury. Doncic has since returned to the lineup, but Reaves remains a major contributor for the Lakers.
Just on Sunday night, Reaves dropped 26 points and handed out 11 assists in the team’s win over the Miami Heat. While Doncic had a triple-double in that game, Reaves’ contributions were also crucial to the Lakers earning their fifth win of the 2025-26 season.
Now, it’s certainly possible that Reaves will see his numbers dip as the season progresses, especially once James returns to the lineup.
Still, it’s been reported that Reaves’ “affinity” for the Lakers experience is well known, and the rising star may want to stay with the franchise that gave him a shot at the NBA level. There have been indications that both sides would like to stay together.
Reaves and the Lakers are back in action on the second night of a back-to-back on Monday, as they’ll play the Portland Trail Blazers for the second time in the 2025-26 campaign.
