The Los Angeles Lakers plan to sign star guard Austin Reaves to a four-year, $185 million max contract, including a player option for the 2029-30 season, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Reaves, 28, declined his $14.9 million player option in favor of receiving a long-term extension.
Reaves’ new $185 million deal is reportedly the richest contract for an undrafted player in NBA history. He’s expected to make roughly $41 million next season, with that figure gradually rising to over $51 million in the final year of his deal.
That’s quite the haul for a player who went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft. Reaves reportedly had a chance to go to the Detroit Pistons in that draft, but told the team he didn’t want to be drafted by it.
Instead, Reaves wound up signing a two-way deal with the Lakers that August. He eventually was signed to an NBA deal and made his debut in October. He worked his way into seeing significant minutes as a rookie, averaging 7.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game.
Reaves showed improvement the following year, averaging 13 points per game and earning Sixth Man of the Year votes.
He took another step forward during the 2023-24 NBA season, again increasing his points per game. That led to Reaves being given a larger role. He appeared in 82 games with the Lakers that season, starting 57 of them.
That set Reaves up as a full-time starter the following year. In 73 games, he averaged 20.2 points and 5.8 assists per game.
He once again increased his points per game last season, when Reaves played in 51 games and averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds.
This breaking news story will be updated.
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