The Los Angeles Lakers will play the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their first 2025 postseason series on Saturday. There will be plenty of attention on LeBron James and Luka Doncic headed into the matchup. NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins believes Austin Reaves is the team's “most important player“, however.

“Look, all eyes are gonna be on LeBron James and Luka Doncic,” Perkins said on ESPN. “I get that. They're the best players on the Los Angeles Lakers. But, the most important player on the Los Angeles Lakers is Austin Reaves.”

Reaves enjoyed a tremendous 2024-25 season. The Lakers guard has established himself as one of the better players in the league. Still, referring to him as the “most important player” on a roster that includes Doncic and James is surprising.

So why did Perkins make the claim?

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“He's (Reaves) a guy that unlocks a different version of them and when he's on the Lakers are pretty much unbeatable,” Perkins continued. “Luka and LeBron James trust him so much that there's times on the floor that they actually defer to Austin Reaves, right, and let him be the guy that's the primary ball-handler, the decision-maker. If they want to get out of this series and make a deep playoff run, it's gonna be because of the play of Austin Reaves.”

Perkins clearly believes in Reaves' impact on the Lakers. LA has found success with the guard on the floor. Perkins also brought some statistical evidence to support his claim.

“By the way, this season, when Austin Reaves scores 20 or more points, the Lakers are 27-9. So that shows you the importance of his play offensively.”

LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and the Lakers will play the Timberwolves on Saturday night at 8:30 PM EST in what projects to be a competitive playoff game in LA.