Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves has spent the last few weeks with Team USA as part of the FIBA World Cup. Although Team USA disappointed its country by failing to obtain any medals at the tournament, Reaves is still happy with the opportunity he had to show off his game on the national stage.

Reaves recently took to Instagram to show gratitude for the experience.

“Although we didn’t get the result we wanted, it was a great opportunity to represent my country this summer!” wrote Reaves in the post.

The international showcase was the follow up to what was a great 2022-23 season for Reaves and the Lakers. Reaves joined the team in 2021 after going undrafted that year out of Arkansas. He struggled to find consistent minutes until the end of the 2021-22 season before solidifying his spot as part of the Lakers rotation in 2023.

Reaves played an integral role in the Lakers' surprising playoff run all the way to the Western Conference Finals this past postseason, establishing himself as perhaps the team's third most impactful player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Reaves was rewarded for his play with a four-year, $56 million contract to return to the Lakers this offseason, where expectations will now be higher than ever for the 25-year-old.

Expectations will also be sky-high for the Lakers following their impressive in-season turn-around in 2022-23 that occurred after a series of trade deadline moves. Los Angeles will kick off its season against the Denver Nuggets on the road on October 24.