“Anthony Davis Is the Most Skilled Player Behind…”: Lakers Star Earns Huge Props From Austin Reaves With Possible Extension Hanging in the Balance

LA Lakers’ star Austin Reaves recently signed the biggest contract of his career. A 4-year, $56,000,000 deal represents a huge pay rise that will see him play alongside LeBron and Anthony Davis for the time being. The 30-year-old Anthony Davis is himself coming to the end of his contract. Davis will earn more than $40 million next season and has a player option for the 2024-25 season. With a potential extension on the horizon, Reaves was full of praise for Davis, on “All The Smoke” podcast.

According to ESPN, Davis is set to sign a big contract extension that will see him remain a Laker, following Austin Reaves. While the details and the finances have not been decided as of now, an agreement is expected to be reached in the current off-season.

Austin Reaves claims Anthony Davis’ defensive impact is underrated

There is little doubt that Davis is one of the best defenders in the NBA currently. While injury issues have been constant in recent seasons, his defensive impact has never been questioned.

Davis is one of the best rim protectors and rebounders in the league. His 6 ft 10 in presence allows the team’s guards to be more aggressive in their approach. His teammate, Austin Reaves believes that AD does not get the credit he deserves, and is a huge defensive presence for the team’s guards:

“He’s obviously a good person to have on your team. Especially defensively, I don’t think he gets enough credit for what he does for us as guards. Like, knowing that you have him as a rim protector you can be like more physical, more aggressive. You can kind of shoot, pass and get in lanes and you know if they get to the paint it’s going to be tough to get to anyway. So like I said, he is arguably right behind Bron, you know the most skilled player I have ever seen, you know just his height, the way he moves, he can handle the ball, he can shoot it. There’s really nothing he can’t do.”

Now in his 3^rd season in NBA, Reaves claimed that Davis was only slightly behind LeBron in terms of skills. He claimed that his presence allows the team’s guards to be more physical and aggressive, something that has benefitted Reaves’ own game.

Austin Reaves once mocked LeBron James’ Lobos tequila brand

Reaves might be extremely delighted with the prospect of playing alongside LeBron and AD. However, back in November 2022, a press conference confession about LeBron’s tequila brand led to him being rebuked by AD.

Fans on Twitter had claimed that the comment might get him traded from the team. Reaves had said that the tequila smelt terrible, which led to AD telling him that he was an investor in the company as well.

Reaves had initially asked LeBron if the tequila was Lobos, claiming that it smelt horrible. However, he checked himself and claimed that smelling horrible did not mean it would taste horrible as well. This proved enough for AD, who seemed happy with Reaves’ response. The video was shared by ClutchPoints on Twitter.