Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves reflected on the most memorable moments of last year, including the most notable trade of the 2024-25 season and Luka Doncic's first game against the Dallas Mavericks. In a revealing interview, Reaves discussed Anthony Davis' shocking group text message after learning he was heading to the Mavericks.
In Doncic's first game back in Dallas, Reaves will never forget the crowd's response to Luka's first trip to the free-throw line, and the vulgar chants toward Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, he said, per The Old Man and The Three podcast.
“The first game we played in Dallas after that, I will never in my career of basketball see anything like that,” Reaves said. “That was insane. They fouled Luka like the first two minutes of the game, and it started. I don't know if it was fire Nico or f*** Nico [Harrison]. I can't remember which one it was, but it was like it was from tip-off to the end of the game, just going crazy, and like every time Luka scored, it was like that, and he went crazy in the first half too. He went crazy.”
With a 10-point lead, Reaves suggested reinserting Doncic into the game to Lakers head coach J.J. Redick.
“We were like, please for 70. Please go kill,” Reaves added. “I remember I told J.J., it was either the start of the fourth or the end of the third, we were up by 10, he subbed Luka out — they went on a run. I went over to J.J. and was like, ‘Hey, look, put him back in the game. He's going to win us the game, and he's going to have 50, and this is going to be great for the team.' The embrace. The way he did it and the way I felt like everybody was there for [it],” Reaves concluded.
Doncic finished with a whopping 45 points on 6-of-28 attempts, including 7-for-10 from deep, eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals in a 112-97 Lakers win.
How Lakers' Austin Reaves found out about Anthony Davis trade
When Anthony Davis was traded to the Mavericks, Lakers guard Austin Reaves thought it was a joke. Reaves confirmed with one of the Lakers' assistant coaches, who was alongside Max Christie at the time of the call.
“I call one of our assistant coaches, Bo,” Reaves added. “And I was like, ‘What the fuck?’ And he was like, “Uh.” And that's all he said. And I was like, ‘Uh, what?’ Like, he was like, “It's real.” And I was like, ‘Okay, how do you know that?’ And he was like, ‘I'm sitting by Max Christie.’”
Christie was part of the Lakers' packaged deal to the Mavericks.
