Basketball · Biography
Austin Reaves
Shooting guard · Los Angeles Lakers · NBA · active · OU 2019-2021
Undrafted Arkansas kid who earned the NBA's biggest undrafted deal
Austin Reaves grew up in Newark, Arkansas, where he led Cedar Ridge High School to state titles and averaged 32.5 points as a senior. Both of his parents played college basketball at Arkansas State.
He started at Wichita State, then transferred to Oklahoma, sat out a year and added 20 pounds. In 2019–20 he averaged 14.7 points and made the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. His signature moment was a career-high 41 points against TCU, including a game-winner with 0.5 seconds left to cap a 19-point comeback. As a senior in 2020–21 he averaged 18.3 points and made first-team All-Big 12.
Reaves went undrafted in 2021. He said he turned down being picked 42nd by Detroit and signed a two-way deal with the Lakers instead. He quickly became a fan favorite. He won the 2023 NBA Cup with Los Angeles, scoring 28 in the championship game, made the 2023 U.S. World Cup team and scored a career-high 51 against Sacramento in October 2025. He averaged 23.3 points in 2025–26.
In June 2026 he signed a four-year, $185 million deal, the richest contract in NBA history for an undrafted player. As of October 8, 2026, Reaves is a Laker.