No Luka Doncic, no LeBron James, no problem. The Los Angeles Lakers handed the Sacramento Kings their second loss of the season on Sunday. Despite not having their top two players due to injury, the team relied heavily on the production of guard Austin Reaves. The undrafted player took the chance to shine in front of the crowd with his 51-point performance, a new career-high.
Reaves didn’t just score the basketball. He channeled his inner Doncic and had 11 rebounds and nine assists in a 127-120 win over the Kings. He also had two steals in the night and made the most of his shots from the free-throw line. The 6-foot-5 guard shot 95.5 from the charity stripe and 60% from beyond the arc.
His outstanding game encouraged his teammates to step up their game. Starting center Deandre Ayton finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and a block. Forward Rui Hachimura added 18 points and two steals on 70% shooting from the field.
Fans were surprised by the production from Reaves, helping the Lakers secure their second win of the new season. Here are some of what the fans said about the team’s starting shooting guard.
“I’m literally in awe bro, I’m crying as I type this” a fan said.
“There’s no 3rd option in the league that can put up these numbers. Austin Reaves done this twice!” another fan commented.
“THE LAKERS GOT TWO LUKAS,” one fan said.
THE LAKERS GOT TWO LUKAS pic.twitter.com/7gMkVFj9hl
— HQE (@thehqenba) October 27, 2025
“they hate it when a white boy got motion,” someone commented.
“Bro wasn’t impressed with Luka’s 49 so he dropped 50 himself 💀💀💀” a comment read.
“Best homegrown Laker since Kobe, and it might not be particularly close either,” a fan compared him to the late Kobe Bryant.
LeBron James reacts to Austin Reaves’ 50-point performance for the Lakers
Reaves had everyone excited with his recent performance against the Kings. Fans had fun seeing their favorite team win even though their best players did not play. Future Hall of Famer LeBron James was also happy for his teammate and how well he led the team to a win.
On X (formerly Twitter), James spoke highly of Reaves for his performance.
“50 piece 🐔 nugget!!!!! That boy AR TOOOO TOUGH!!” James posted on social media.
50 piece 🐔 nugget!!!!! That boy AR TOOOO TOUGH!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 27, 2025
With Reaves’ legendary performance, he also made history. The undrafted guard now has 500 3-pointers made in his career. In his five-year career, the guard has shot 36.9% from downtown. The 2022-23 season was his best from outside the arc, when he shot 39.8%.
The next game for Reaves and the Lakers will be on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
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Follow me on- X at @BarbecueBro, and follow us at @HardwoodHeroics and @GridironHeroics. You can also reach out to Reign Amurao via email at reignamuraonba@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
