Austin Reaves, the defender who just committed $56 million to the Los Angeles Lakers, shared his thoughts on a new contract this summer.

Austin Reaves admitted in an interview with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip that signing a four-year, $56 million contract this offseason was truly a big step in his life.

“That’s what I’ve always done my entire life. I really bet on myself and believed that I just needed one chance to shine,” Reaves said.

“I just need to put in my own effort and let time tell the rest. I will need to try harder to contribute to the team in the long journey ahead. Everything is just the beginning. Even so I felt very proud of myself.”

This 25-year-old player has just had a dizzying breakthrough in his NBA career. He started from not being selected at Draft 2021, then was recruited by the Lakers and then emerged as a “secondary double” last season.

Regularly playing alongside LeBron James or Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves averages 13 points, along with 3.4 assists and 3 rebounds per game with an efficiency at the 3-point line reaching 39.8%.

This national player played even more explosively during the Playoffs, increasing his stats to 16.9 points and 4.6 assists per game. He became a key factor of the home team at Crypto.com Arena, at times becoming the third scoring option on the team (behind LeBron and Davis).

Before the new season is about to start, Austin Reaves is expected to bring success to the Lakers after the team brought in rookies such as Gabe Vincent, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes and Taurean Prince, while also retaining D’ Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura.

“I feel really satisfied with what we did. Overall, the team had a good season. We will prepare carefully next season to compete for the championship,” said the player. This shares more.

Before joining forces with the Los Angeles Lakers before the 2023-24 season, Austin Reaves is currently playing for the US national basketball team, playing a series of friendly matches to prepare for the 2023 FIBA World Cup finals.

Through three friendly matches, Reaves played well with many contributions in both attack and defense. Just like in the NBA, perhaps the only thing “AR15” needs is the opportunity to shine.