Austin Reaves Reportedly Set to Sign Lakers Contract, Full Details Ahead of NBA Free Agency

Coming off the best season of his career, Austin Reaves is reportedly set to be rewarded with a new contract from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Shams Charania of ESPN reported Reaves intends to sign a four-year, $185 million contract that will keep him with the team through the 2029-30 season.

The Lakers have now locked in Reaves and Luka Dončić as two of their long-term pillars. Dončić signed a three-year, $165 million extension in August 2025 that ties him to the club through at least the 2027-28 season.

Reaves signed the deal after opting out of his $14.9 million salary for the 2026-27 season under his previous contract, per Charania.

The Lakers had a chance to sign Reaves to a more team-friendly deal prior to the start of last season, but he turned down a four-year, $89.2 million deal in July 2025 to bet on himself. His strategy paid off handsomely with this new contract.

There's a real argument to be made that Reaves is the Lakers' best home-grown talent since Kobe Bryant. Other more recent candidates would include Alex Caruso and Brandon Ingram, neither of whom played more than four seasons in Los Angeles.

The Lakers signed Reaves as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He worked his way into their rotation as a rookie when they were trying to figure out their roster in the wake of trading several key role players to the Washington Wizards for Russell Westbrook.

Reaves emerged as a key role player in his second season, averaging 13.0 points per game on 52.9 percent shooting in 64 appearances. He earned a four-year, $53.8 million extension on the strength of that performance.

After opening the 2023-24 season primarily coming off the bench, Reaves forced his way into the starting lineup midway through the year. He remained a full-time starter in JJ Redick's first season as head coach.

Playing with Luka Dončić for the final two months of the 2024-25 season unlocked the best version of Reaves so far in the NBA. The Oklahoma alum set career-highs in scoring average (20.2), assists (5.8), rebounds (4.5) and steals (1.1) in 73 starts.

In the 28 games starting with Dončić's Lakers debut on Feb. 10, Reaves averaged 21.9 points on 39.6 percent three-point shooting. His numbers could go up moving forward as Dončić gets more acclimated with a full offseason to prepare for playing with this team after a surprise midseason trade.

The trend continued in 2025-26, when Reaves played at an All-Star level with 23.3 points on 49.0 percent shooting and 5.5 assists per game in 51 appearances.

If this version of Reaves is the player he will be going forward, the Lakers will have one of the best backcourt duos in the NBA for years to come.