Both D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves had nice years for the Los Angeles Lakers in helping their squad make the Western Conference Finals. Speaking on the emergence of Reaves in 2023, Russell emphasizes that the Lakers guard is a killer, via The Pat Bev Pod.

“Killer, oh my God he's a killer…when I got around him…I was just seeing his demeanor, and it was just like, he was never excited about it, he just kind of always felt like, ‘yeah, I can do that, I'm built like that…'”

D'Angelo Russell immediately lights up when Austin Reaves is mentioned, claiming with certainty that the young Lakers guard is an absolute ‘killer.' He talks about the first time that he ever played against Reaves and how he was shocked by the moves Reaves pulled out. He continues by saying that he really got to know how Reaves was built after he was traded to the Lakers.

Russell asserts that Reaves is always calm and collected no matter how impressive he plays. It became clear to Russell that Reaves views himself as an elite player, so when he started putting up elite numbers, it wasn't really a factor to Reaves.

These descriptions from Russell echo a lot of what is believed about Reaves within the Lakers organization. This explains why the Lakers were quick to resign Reaves this summer and the rumors were that they were going to be willing to match any contract offer that he received. Ultimately, Austin Reaves didn't get offered by anyone else because the Lakers were so adamant on retaining him, and now D'Angelo Russell will get to play another season with the ‘killer.'