Austin Reaves delivers first buzzer beater of 2025-26 NBA season

Austin Reaves (Google Images)

When you think of the Los Angeles Lakers, the first two players who pop to mind are LeBron James and Luka Doncic. However, with Doncic and James out with injuries, the Lakers have relied on their supporting cast to start the season. The one Lakers player who has had a monster start is shooting guard Auston Reaves of Newark, Arkansas.

On Sunday, Reaves had 51 points in a 127-120 Lakers win over the Sacramento Kings. Then on Wednesday, Reaves made the first buzzer beater of the 2025-26 NBA season. He accomplished the feat in a 116-115 Lakers win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Reaves’s game-winning jump shot was from 12 feet. At the time of the shot, the Lakers were trailing the Timberwolves 115-114. The buzzer beater was unassisted and the first of Reaves’s NBA career.

Int the one point Lakers’s win over Minnesota, Reaves had a double-double as he had 28 points and 16 assists. It was redemption for the Lakers too. Remember, the Lakers lost to the Timberwolves int the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

So far this season, Reaves is averaging 34.2 points per game. He is getting to the free throw line a lot. Reaves is averaging 10.4 free throws made per game, which leads the NBA. He is averaging 10 assists per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 1.8 steals per game. Reaves also has a shooting percentage of .525, three point percentage of .385, and free throw percentage of .897.

This was the second time already this season that the Lakers have beaten the Timberwolves. Los Angles was also victorious by a score of 128-110 a week ago at Crypto.com Arena.