Austin Reaves Talks Lakers Season, LeBron James, Team USA and More in B/R Interview

The Los Angeles Lakers may have a Denver Nuggets problem, but Austin Reaves isn't putting too much weight into Tuesday's season-opening loss.

"It's game one," he told Bleacher Report. "We're a really new team with a bunch of new guys. Honestly, we just didn't play that well. I didn't play that well. Just missed some shots that I normally make, and they shot the ball really well and played really well. We still had a couple opportunities to make it a game."

While it was just one game, it was also a chance for the Lakers to make a statement against the reigning champions and the team that swept them in the Western Conference Finals on the same night Denver received its rings and raised its banner to the rafters.

Instead, Nikola Jokić and Co. controlled play on the way to a 119-107 victory.

Still, Reaves—who finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals—stressed that the Lakers will be ready with tweaks for future matchups against the Nuggets that will have more at stake. That is key because the gap might not be as large as it seems considering three of the four Western Conference Finals games were decided by single digits.

One of those tweaks in a potential playoff rematch would surely be playing LeBron James more than the 29 minutes he saw in Tuesday's loss. Yet head coach Darvin Ham told reporters "in all likelihood" the plan is to manage the King's minutes during the regular season so he is fresher for the playoffs.

That makes sense considering he turns 39 years old in December and is playing the 21st season of his incredible career, but it also puts more of the onus on the supporting cast of Reaves and others if Los Angeles is going to have a successful regular season.

But it doesn't mean a changed approach.

"I don't think it changes anything," Reaves said. "We still have to go out there and play basketball the right way. I'm sure there's nights where Bron is feeling really well and plays a little more and others when he plays a little less. But at the end of the day, all he cares about is winning. And that's all we care about as a team."

When Reaves isn't chasing those wins on the court, he partnered with Call of Duty off it to help promote the newest version of the video game franchise.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III will be released on Nov. 10, and the Lakers guard said he "was super excited just because I love the game so much" when presented with the opportunity.

Yet he isn't so sure that love for Call of Duty would translate into a victory if there was a tournament featuring all his Los Angeles teammates, especially if he was matched up against D'Angelo Russell and Max Christie.

"I don't know if I'm winning because I haven't played as much recently," he said. "I know DLo plays, I know Max plays. I would have to get back and start grinding again for me to say I would win."

The Call of Duty partnership is just another development in Reaves' ascension to more fame.

First, he played a significant role in the Purple and Gold's run to the Western Conference Finals as the third-leading postseason scorer on the team behind only James and Anthony Davis. He scored more than 20 points in three of the four contests against the Nuggets and poured in 23 points in the closeout game against Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors in the second round.

He parlayed that showing into a four-year contract extension with the Lakers that will pay him $54 million and features a $14.9 million player option for the final season of it in 2026-27.

As if that wasn't enough, he played for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup.

Starring in the playoffs for one of the NBA's marquee franchises, signing a head-turning contract extension and then representing one's country in the FIBA World Cup is quite the development for someone who was an undrafted free agent after playing collegiately for Wichita State and Oklahoma.

Mirin Fader of The Ringer even called it the "Summer of Austin" in a profile.

So does he feel more of a spotlight at the start of a new season?

"Not really," Reaves said. "I enjoy playing basketball just for the basketball part. I don't really care about anything else outside of basketball when I'm in between the lines. Winning is the main thing, so if I play really well or if I don't, getting that win at the end of the day is all that matters."

That Team USA run ended in disappointment, as the Americans lost to Germany in the semifinals and Canada in the bronze-medal game. However, Reaves finished second on the team in points per game behind only Anthony Edwards and said he can apply the experience toward the 2023-24 campaign with Los Angeles.

"There's a lot," he said. "Going overseas and playing a different style of basketball and the way the European game is played. You can bring stuff from that back. And just being around so many high-level players and coaches who are going to go into the Hall of Fame. Just being able to pick their brain and learn from everyone who was in the organization."

Attention now turns toward the 2024 Olympics, which will surely feature a much different team.

After all, James said he wants to play, and a September report from ESPN's Brian Windhorst listed Davis, Curry, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Draymond Green as candidates to be on the roster.

Throw in Joel Embiid committing to the squad, and there might not be much room left for Reaves. Still, he does have the advantage of being teammates with the brightest star of that star-studded list.

"If that happens, cool," he said while laughing when asked if he would consider putting in a good word with James in an effort to be included on the Olympics roster. "If not, it is what it is. Anytime I get an opportunity, especially for Team USA, I would love to do it."

But there are more immediate goals in play.

"The championship is the main thing," Reaves said when discussing what would make a successful 2023-24 season. "But you always want to take steps forward and be a better version of yourself every day and every year. For me, it's just improving in every aspect."

If he keeps improving after his breakout playoffs, that championship will eventually come.