Lakers' Austin Reaves Reveals Moment He Feels He Earned LeBron James' Trust

LeBron James trusts Austin Reaves.

But it was an earned trust.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard appeared on The Old Man and The Three podcast with JJ Redick and discussed the moment he feels he earned the King's trust (31-minute mark). It came during last season's first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, which the Lakers won in six games.

"Fully was Game 1 of the Memphis series last year," he said. "We had great chemistry from Day 1, and there was trust there. But I remember like it was yesterday in the fourth quarter when I had it going, there was a shot and I think D-Lo might have gotten the rebound and he outletted it to Bron. Obviously I ran to the corner, Bron's got the ball.

"And I get to half court, and I hear him yelling my name and saying 'come get the ball.' I was like 'oh s--t, I've gotta make something happen.' I think that's maybe when I hit the three or the jump shot, one of the two. For me, at least, everything went to slow motion. I can't make him look stupid, he's giving me the ball and everyone is probably looking at him sideways for giving me the ball."

With that trust in place, Reaves was excellent throughout the playoffs.

He scored 23 points in the Game 1 win over the Grizzlies and eventually averaged 21.3 points and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 54.9 percent from the field and 56 percent from deep in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets.

Since then, he has signed a new contract and represented the United States in the FIBA World Cup while becoming a household name among NBA fans.

And there is no doubt James trusts him at this point as the Lakers attempt to make another deep run in the Western Conference this season.