As the Los Angeles Lakers continue to navigate life without LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are showing that — when healthy — they comprise one of the NBA’s top backcourts.
They will have a chance to prove it Wednesday when the Lakers take on the defending NBA champion Thunder in Oklahoma City.
Doncic and Reaves have been available for just five of the Lakers’ 11 games thus far this season.
But it finally appears they’re both healthy, after Reaves returned from missing three games with a groin injury.
“I was pushing him to get back,” Doncic said of Reaves. “I needed him back. … He’s an amazing player.”
The duo combined for 62 points and 14 assists in Los Angeles’ 121-111 win at Charlotte on Monday.
Reaves was just 2-for-10 from beyond the arc but showed off his playmaking abilities even when he wasn’t scoring.
The Lakers are 4-1 with both players available this season.
“He’s an All-Star level player,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Reaves. “He’s, along with Luka, an incredibly dynamic offensive player. I think our depth increases, the lineup optionality increases, so not having him in the lineup really, really hurts us.”
The Lakers come into Wednesday’s game leading the league in shooting at 51.2% from the floor, while the Thunder are holding opponents to a league-low 42.1%.
Oklahoma City big man Chet Holmgren is coming off a 9-for-9, 23-point, 11-rebound performance in Tuesday’s 126-102 win over Golden State.
“It takes time to learn the speed of closeouts, spacing, anticipate when you’re going to get the ball,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of Holmgren’s improvement so far this season.
“All that has grown for him over time. … All he cares about is getting better.”
Holmgren is brushing off talks of Oklahoma City’s dominance so far, even as the Thunder have won 11 of 12 to begin the season.
“The only narratives we care about is winning,” Holmgren said.
Holmgren has yet to play on both nights of a back-to-back this season. He played less than 25 minutes in Tuesday’s win, sitting out the entire fourth quarter as Oklahoma City had the game well in hand.
Three of the Thunder’s other starters — including reigning Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — sat out the fourth quarter as well.
The game is the first of four meetings between the teams this season. The Thunder won two of the three in 2024-25.
“They’re the No. 1 team right now,” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said of Oklahoma City. “So we got to be ready for war on Wednesday.”
The Thunder have been without Luguentz Dort for the past four games, while Aaron Wiggins has missed the past three contests.
Lakers rookie Adou Thiero has yet to make his debut this season, and he remains out Wednesday. Thiero, however, is nearing a return from left knee surgery and could make his debut on the road trip.
–Field Level Media
