NBA IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT

December 8, 2023

Austin Reaves

Los Angeles Lakers

Championship Practice Day

Q. Austin, just curious about your thoughts about the matchup with the Pacers. Anything that stands out about Indiana going into the game?

AUSTIN REAVES: I mean, obviously their pace of play is second to none. They score a lot of points and are very capable of going on quick runs just with the way they shoot the ball and the way they play. Being able to transition or not -- honestly, they kind of make it all transition; even if you make a shot, they get it out of the net real quick. Just being able to focus on kind of building a wall and trying to stop that.

Q. I think a lot of people saw over the FIBA World Cup that you and Tyrese got a pretty good relationship out of that. What was it like playing with him? What was he like as a teammate? What was that whole experience like of just playing on the same unit?

AUSTIN REAVES: Yeah, it was great. He makes life easy for you as a teammate playing alongside of him.

Other than that, he's a great dude. Family is great. Always has positive energy and wants the best for the team.

I've got nothing but respect for him. He's obviously playing at a super-high level and has them rolling as a unit. You tip your hat to him, and I wish him nothing but the best.

Q. Obviously the ultimate goal is for you to win in June. I understand it's December, but you've been very adamant about wanting to win this. When it comes to LeBron, do you recognize a similar focus and preparation from him right now as to the Playoffs last season?

AUSTIN REAVES: Yeah, he took three charges yesterday. If that doesn't tell you that he wants to win, then I don't know what will. I think the first one was on Zion, and you have to be pretty locked in to take a charge on Zion coming downhill.

Not that he's not locked into every game because he obviously is, but I think you can see that he wants to win this.

Q. Your role and Tyrese's role on Team USA this past summer were similar. You guys were both asked to play a similar amount of minutes, were coming off the bench. Your NBA roles are different at this point.

When you see his success and kind of being the head of the snake for the Pacers, does it stir up anything in you in terms of where you'd like to see your career go at some point with the Lakers or as your career progresses?

AUSTIN REAVES: Yeah, I mean, anytime you can take on a bigger role, obviously anybody in the NBA would love that. He does a lot for that team. But right now, I'm just focused on what we're doing right now, obviously trying to win tomorrow.

Not just tomorrow. Just make a push in the Playoffs and try to get the organization another ring.

Q. The winner gets 500K per player. If you could only spend the 500K on one thing, whether it's like shoes, golf clubs, what would you spend it on?

AUSTIN REAVES: I'd probably go get a golf membership at Riviera or something, a really nice course in L.A.

Q. I want to go back to what you said about Tyrese making life easier on you. In the short time that you were able to play with him, how did he do that, and how did you get a sense of what he could do for you as a teammate and how he could make your life easier on offense?

AUSTIN REAVES: I think it's just the pace that he plays with and the willingness to be that unselfish. He makes the right play the majority of the time. He doesn't really turn the ball over. He instills confidence in you. Anytime he swings the ball and you're open, he wants you to shoot it. It's not more so shoot it to give me an assist; it's he wants you to be successful, as well.

Anytime you've got a guy like that, the caliber of player that he is that believes that confidence in you, it makes life easy.

Q. You guys have won seven of ten, you've ascended to fourth in the West, obviously have a chance to win the NBA Cup and LeBron has been putting up ridiculous numbers throughout this season. With all of that, do you feel like he should be more in the MVP conversation than he has been up to this point?

AUSTIN REAVES: Yeah. I mean, I think you could say that for his whole career, though. He's been in the league a long time now, and every year I think you could make an argument for him.

But this year, everything seems to just be a little different. Obviously I've only been in the league for -- this is my third year now, and being around him for those three years, this year he seems very much alive, healthy, and his competitiveness and attention to detail is always great.

But something seems a little different in the way he's playing. It's at a super-high level for anybody, any age, but especially for someone that's played as long as he has.

Q. I think anytime you go from the salary you had last year to the big contract -- I don't want to say there's a target on your back, but people take notice of that. You wanted to prove it wasn't a fluke and you can do this consistently. How have you found that this year with this new roll off the bench and the new contract? How have you found it going so far?

AUSTIN REAVES: Good. I mean, I think we're fourth in the West. We've won, I think, 11 of our last 15. We're playing really well as a group, and we're finally getting whole. Hopefully we can get Gabe back soon and have a full unit and be able to mesh as a group.

But for me, winning is the main thing. If we can win every game, that's all I really care about.

Q. The NBA announced this morning that they're giving 300 tickets to students at UNLV after the shooting this week. What does that mean to you to know that tomorrow's game is going to serve as a sense of normalcy for them, a distraction for them and a way for them to start healing?

AUSTIN REAVES: Yeah, anytime you have a situation like what happened at UNLV, your heart goes out to anybody that was involved. I think sports is a beautiful thing to -- like you said, kind of play as a distraction. Obviously it doesn't mask what actually happened, but for them to just be able to come to a game and get their mind off of it and just have a good time is good for them.

Like I said, it doesn't mask what happens and there needs to be more conversation about the things that do happen and change. But for them to just have an opportunity to go get their mind off it will be good.