LeBron James is nothing but ecstatic about Austin Reaves stepping up when it mattered the most for the Los Angeles Lakers.
With a bucket needed to pull away on Sunday, Reaves donned his superhero cape and drained a crucial three-pointer from a pass by James to give the Lakers a five-point edge over the Detroit Pistons, stamping a 122-117 victory.
“I trust him,” James said of Reaves, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I love what he brings to the table both offensively and defensively, and his basketball IQ is very high. He plays hard and he doesn’t make many mistakes. And anytime he’s on the floor with me, I trust him to make the play.”
For Reaves, he is happy to ultimately earn the trust of the future Hall of Famer to be handed the keys to finishing the game on crunch time.
“Twenty years down the road, I’ll probably think back to times like this and be like, ‘Damn, like it was arguably one of the greatest players ever having trust in me,'” Reaves said. “Which is special.”
The Lakers escaped the six-game road trip with a fair 3-3 card as they head back home for a rivalry matchup with the league’s best Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
