Austin Reaves said on Mar. 29 that he and his agents had a plan in place during the 2021 NBA Draft, ultimately leading him to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as an undrafted free agent rather than accept a second-round selection from the Detroit Pistons.
Reaves addressed why he chose this path, highlighting the importance of finding the right situation for his career development. He said, “My agents, they set up a plan. And the plan was that we knew L.A. had a two-way open on draft night and knew it was a situation to where I could possibly step in and get a contract, because I don’t know how many guys were under contract at that time. There were a lot of free agents, a lot of signing to be done.”
He explained further that despite Detroit’s interest at pick number 42, he prioritized long-term fit over hearing his name called during the draft. “We knew that going in, and [Detroit] called in at 42, they came up to me. And, you know, it’s every kids’ dream to hear their name called on draft night, and I’m no different. It came down to sticking to a plan and that’s what we did. It sucked to not hear my name called, but obviously putting ourselves in a good position was much more important,” Reaves said.
Reaves also cited analytics assessments favoring Los Angeles as one of his top landing spots: “They have a bunch of analytics guys that were grading teams by grade one, two, three… I think it was Lakers, Bucks and maybe one other team that were Tier 1… We kind of dove into that and listened to that.” He added there were few players under contract with the Lakers at the time which increased his chances for making the roster: “Knowing there was going to be possibility to snag that 13th or 14th roster spot… On top of that… him (gestures to LeBron), the IQ level.”
Reflecting on his journey since joining Los Angeles as an undrafted player who has become an important contributor for the team alongside LeBron James—whom he praised for leadership—Reaves described joining Los Angeles as “the best decision” of his life.
Recently after losing against Detroit but fighting until the end with teammates’ strong effort—a performance Reaves appreciated—the guard continues focusing on growth with hopes for further improvement.
