Austin Reaves, a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, gave serious thought to playing alongside Victor Wembanyama for the San Antonio Spurs.

Austin Reaves, a guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, returned to the City of Angels in 2022–23 after having a great season. Reaves seems to have given moving to a different Western Conference club some serious thought before deciding to leave Los Angeles this past summer.

Reaves recently spoke about the interest he was receiving during free agency from the San Antonio Spurs, who had just selected prodigy prospect Victor Wembanyama.

“It definitely creeps into your mind, obviously, a little bit of talks back and forth, something possibly coming to life,” said Reaves, per The Lowe Post with Zach Lowe. “But I didn’t think there was any way the Lakers didn’t match whatever was offered… You hear things, and obviously with Wembanyama, so much upside with him, your mind kind of wanders into that basketball world, what that would be like.”

After being undrafted in the summer of 2021, Austin Reaves joined the Lakers. Even though he didn’t play much in his first season, Reaves eventually made his way into the Los Angeles starting lineup by the end of 2021–22. He then had a breakout year in 2022–23, which made him one of the team’s most crucial players during the Lakers’ unexpected run to the Western Conference Finals this past postseason.

Even so, anybody would hesitate to play alongside a potential with Victor Wembanyama’s level of skill over generations. After becoming one of the most sought-after prospects of all time, the French freak of nature was selected by the Spurs with the first overall pick this summer.Undoubtedly, Lakers supporters are pleased that Reaves declined the chance to rejoin the Purple & Gold.