Austin Reaves embraces new role as leader in LA

"Very bland, to be honest," Reaves told reporters at the Lakers' media day on Monday, Sept. 28. "But at the end of the day, we care about winning, and that's all that matters."

The result was a five-year, $184.76 million contract for Reaves - who president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka identified as the No. 1 priority this offseason after LeBron James left in free agency - and an almost entirely new supporting cast around him and Dončić.

So new, in fact, that Reaves is now the longest-tenured Laker. Not bad for a kid from Oklahoma who arrived in LA as a two-way player after going undrafted in 2021. The growth over his five-year career was most evident when he went from looking virally flustered by James' on-court directions as a rookie to commanding the attention of the NBA's all-time leading scorer on the sideline a year ago.