“My Legs Were Gone”: Austin Reaves Describes First Taste of Playoffs, Guarding Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson

Austin Reaves has steadily but surely established himself as a star during his time at the LA Lakers. The 25-year-old has gone from strength to strength in recent months and played a huge role in his team’s In-Season tournament win as well. Recently, Reaves wound up on The Old Man and The Three podcast to discuss various aspects of his incredible journey in the NBA.

The discussion eventually delved into the kind of experiences Reaves has had during the Playoffs. When asked which series in particular was the toughest in his opinion, Reaves talked about the first two Playoff series of his career.

The 2023 Season saw the Lakers lose in the Conference Finals against eventual Champions Denver Nuggets. However, that happened after wins against the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors. Reaves initially talked about his experience against Desmond Bane, claiming that it had a huge effect on his performances in the next series.

“I didn’t play well the first two games I think, maybe 3. Couldn’t, front rim, everything, the Memphis series was for me the toughest series, the physicality, having to chase Bane around everywhere, constant mover,” he said, before revealing that the fatigue meant the series against the Warriors proved even more challenging.

“Moving in to chase Steph and Klay around everywhere. My legs were gone, but had to figure it out. That’s what I have kind of done my whole life, just figure it out on the go and figure out how to be successful,” Reaves revealed.

The player then complimented his teammates, claiming that nobody gave him any reaction when he did miss his shots. He went on to talk about the kind of success the Warriors have had, in the last decade. 

Claiming that the Warriors knew how to win, Reaves labeled the series as his toughest ever. “Steph at the head of the snake, it was a great feeling coz it’s kind of like, last ten years we had seen these guys in all the finals a million times. Seen all their success. So to beat them was a really good feeling,” he said.

Hence, it was the obvious respect and the kind of success that the Warriors have had in recent years, along with the fatigue Reaves was carrying from the series against the Grizzlies, which made winning against the Warriors all the more special.

Austin Reaves was the Lakers third star during the 2023 Playoffs

The LA Lakers had managed a remarkable regular season turnaround in order to make their way to the Playoffs. With the team needing Reaves to step up, that is exactly what the 25-year-old ended up doing.

At 16.9 points per game, Reaves was the Lakers’ third-highest scorer during the 2023 Playoffs and started every game. He produced multiple memorable performances on both ends of the court and came for clutch multiple times.

He produced two 23-point games against the Grizzlies and was crucial in each of the four wins. Reaves also produced another 23 points in Game 6 against the Warriors, when he also had 6 assists and 5 rebounds to boot, according to StatMuse.

The overall performances meant that Reaves might have entered the 2023 Playoffs as a bit of a rookie. However, he staked his claim as a potential superstar in what was the first two series of his career.