It's no longer a secret that Austin Reaves declined teams who were looking to pick him in the 2021 NBA Draft to get a shot at joining the Los Angeles Lakers, but he told the story anyway in a recent appearance on SHOWTIME Basketball together with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

Reaves, who parlayed that particular bold move into a two-way contract with the Lakers in 2021, said that his agency (AMR Agency) had a game plan heading into the draft in which they had teams “tiered” according to his fit. Austin Reaves said that the Lakers were among the teams on the top tier as well as the Milwaukee Bucks. The former Oklahoma Sooners star remembered the Detroit Pistons called but his side decided to reject the idea.

“We could have got drafted 42nd to Detroit, but declined that to put me in LA,” Reaves said. “I didn’t really have to hear my name called… It was all about playing the long game.”

It all turned out well for Reaves, and he has the four-year contract worth $53.83 million he signed with the Lakers earlier this July to prove it. After his two-way deal with the Lakers in 2021, he inked a two-year, $2.49 million, which was already sweet for an undrafted player, but his most recent one with the Lakers gives his gamble on draft day an even stronger confirmation.

In the last season, Reaves played a pivotal role for the Lakers, even ranking third on the team — just behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James — in terms of win shares (5.4) and Value over Replacement Player (1.2).