You can win all 82 games and score 40 points every time in the regular season, but a first-round playoff exit will always define the rest of your career thereafter. The postseason is where performance truly counts, and Paul Pierce has warned Austin Reaves, one of the NBA’s hottest stars in the 2025-26 season, about exactly that.
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Reaves has averaged 29.3 points per game while shooting 52.5 percent from the field. The Lakers are also flying thanks to him and Luka Doncic, as they sit at 16–6 and second in the Western Conference, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
So, it is safe to say that Reaves has become a protagonist on a team competing for the biggest prize. And while that is a great thing for him, it also comes with added pressure and the vulnerability of being heavily scrutinized if things do not go his way.
Pierce, on KG Certified, stated, “Austin Reaves is playing at a superstar level. But this is where he’s gonna be judged at. He’s gonna be judged on his playoffs.”
“If he’s as good as he is right now… because what we saw last year in the playoffs, people was like he’s not it. But to his credit that was the first playoff to where he had the spotlight on him.”
In 2025, the Lakers exited the playoffs in the very first round, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1. Reaves averaged just about 16 points, and was nowhere near as impactful as the purple and gold would have wanted him to be. That said, he looks like a different man in the 2025/26 season.
James is no longer the main man for the Lakers. In fact, he might not even be their number two anymore. Doncic is pulling the strings, and Reaves is thriving in an incredible support role. As a result, the franchise and its supporters are counting on him to sustain this level of play when they inevitably reach the playoffs in 2026.
“We gotta see what he does in the playoffs, because if the Lakers don’t re-sign him, somebody’s gonna give him that money,” Pierce continued. The Celtics legend believes that Reaves has what it takes to be a great number two or number three on a team aiming to win the championship, and that is a valuable asset to have.
As of now, trade chatter around Reaves is quiet. But with February fast approaching, talks of an extension may begin to heat up.
