Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is such a hooper that not even an ankle sprain will prevent him from playing.
The Lakers have listed Reaves as probable to play in a crucial matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, March 29, that will break their logjam at fourth seed in the stacked Western Conference.
Reaves suffered an ankle sprain during the second half of the Lakers’ heartbreaking 119-117 loss to the Chicago Bulls but he shrugged it off to finish the game and almost saved them from the stinging defeat.
“I just want to be there for my teammates,” Reaves told reporters after the loss. “It’s not the first time I rolled my ankle. Probably not the last. I just like playing. I like being in the game, being able to kind of control the game and if I sit out with it, I can’t play and I’m not able to control what I want. So I just try to forget about it and try to focus on trying to win.”
Not ONLY the WORST loss of the season for the Lakers but I’m worried about
Austin Reaves right ankle pic.twitter.com/FC1xAPK5HM
— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) March 28, 2025
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LeBron James praised Reaves for playing through pain and almost winning the game for them. Reaves led the Lakers with 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting with three assists, two blocks and a rebound.
“AR he’s tough as nails,” James told reporters after the game. “He’s great. I’m happy that he continues to make strides in his career. I’ve seen him the whole time, the whole rise so it’s been awesome.”
Austin Reaves on Taking Last Shot
Reaves, playing through pain, faked a pass to Luka Dončić before attacking the rim on a strong drive that put the Lakers ahead 117-116 with three seconds left.
The rising star said it meant “a lot” to him for Redick to draw the Lakers’ final offensive play for him even with James and Dončić on the court.
“That’s LeBron arguably the greatest player ever and Luka who’s gonna go down as one of the best players as well,” Reaves said. “I said it a million times, I’ve barely got my foot in the league and I’m just trying to take advantage of all the opportunities. They trust me in that moment. I just go try to be successful for them.”
However, Reaves’ heroics were foiled by Bulls Australian guard Josh Giddey, who hit a Hail Mary at the buzzer to break the Lakers’ hearts.
Lakers Stars Share Blame
A costly turnover preceded Reaves’ clutch drive that allowed Coby White to give the Bulls a 116-115 lead with six seconds left.
James owned the blame for the miscommunication with Reaves. But Reaves did not allow James to shoulder the blame alone.
“We knew they [were] going to trap and force a turnover,” Reaves said. “Eventually, they’re gonna foul so I want to get the ball and go to the free throw line. The miscommunication was that I was trying to hold his defender off instead of popping into the ball. I take as much as responsibility, I’m sure he did. Hopefully, we’ll talk about it, figure it out so next time it won’t happen again.”
The Lakers hope to bounce back against the Grizzlies, who just fired Taylor Jenkins, their winningest coach in franchise history, in a stunning decision on Friday, March 28.
Tuomas Iisalo, Jenkins’ lead assistant, will serve as the Grizzlies interim coach for the remainder of the season. He became the first Finnish coach to call the shots in the NBA.
The Lakers hope they could exploit the sudden coaching change in Memphis to pull off a critical win.
Memphis star Ja Morant, who missed the last six games, is questionable to play against the Lakers. The Grizzlies are 8-11 since the All-Star break.
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