"I Apologize For Ever Wanting You Traded": Lakers Fans Bow Down to First Option Austin Reaves Hoops After Career-High 51 Points

Austin Reaves stunned the Lakers fans after scoring his first career 50-point game and leading the team to an improbable win over the Kings in LeBron James and Luka Doncic's absence. Reaves, an undrafted rookie from Oklahoma, has shown tremendous growth, but on Sunday, he proved himself to be a star and an All-Star candidate.

Reaves scored a career-high 51 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, nearly getting a historic triple-double. He shot 54.5%, including six 3s and was 21 of 22 from the free throw line. There's not much the Kings' defense could do about him despite the lack of star talent around Reaves, who went up against former All-Stars like Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Russell Westbrook by himself.

Reaves also proved to many Lakers fans why he was never meant to be involved in trade machines through the offseason. Here's how they reacted to this masterclass from the shooting guard:

AR Shuttleworth Finn⁶🦦

@finn_trae

Austin Reaves I apologize for ever wanting u traded Btw better than Lurry

BetMGM 🦁

@BetMGM

Only the 9TH player ever with 50+/11+/9+ 🤯

Hollywood Houngan

@DonRubix

Adam Silver about to change the NBA logo to Austin Reaves

Joe

@ItsIconicJ

Never forget Stone Cold Austin

Sports Yoda

@SportsYodaOC

Lebron should come off the bench when he gets back 😂

Hoops Realm

@TheHoopsRealm

Captain America saving the Lakers when they needed him most 😭😮‍💨

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Austin Reaves gives Lakers tremendous cushion in LeBron James and Luka Doncic's offense

Austin Reaves has announced that he's ready to shoulder the load in LeBron James and Luka Doncic's absence. There were concerns heading into this year about whether Reaves has another level to his game, but those can be quashed, and not just because of Sunday's 51-point game.

Reaves played as the second option behind Doncic without James and put up 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists in the first two games, shooting 58.1%. Reaves was also at the top of his game as a first option last season when James and Doncic were out.

On Feb.8, against a fully healthy Pacers team, Reaves had 45 points and seven assists in a 124-117 win. On Mar. 14, he torched a healthy Nuggets team with 37 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists in a five-point loss.

The sample size remains relatively small still, but Reaves' game and impact speak volumes even in the limited time frame. The Lakers can now get a full experience of it over the next week as Doncic misses time due to injury.