Austin Reaves had a fantastic 2024-25 season for the Los Angeles Lakers in which he averaged 20.2 points and 5.8 assists a game and started to play at a borderline All-Star level. His efficiency rose after Luka Doncic made his debut, and some are expecting him to take yet another step forward in terms of his production this season.
He has always seemed to be the type of player who puts in lots of work, and he said that this summer, he looked to add muscle.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Reaves said on media day. “I spent a lot of time in the weight room, a lot of time on court. We played a lot of pickup. Just had a really fun summer.
“It’s fun to get in here and compete since, when the season’s over, you’re kind of like ‘It’s time to relax’ and then you get a month in and then you miss competing and just to get back in here and do that is a lot of fun. I can’t wait for the season to start.”
One issue Reaves has had is the inability to effectively guard bigger wings on the defensive end. Adding some upper body and core strength and muscle should certainly help in that department.
He will be playing off the ball more than ever before now that Doncic and LeBron James are ahead of him in the pecking order when it comes to ball handling and facilitation duties. That could mean a bump in Reaves’ shooting percentages this season as the Lakers look to become legitimate championship contenders.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Austin Reaves reveals what his focus was during the offseason
