Doncic, Reaves Friendship Sparks Lakers’ 19-9 Surge
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Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have turned a light-hearted rivalry into the engine behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ 19-9 opening to the 2025-26 season, lifting the club to fourth place in the Western Conference despite LeBron James missing more than half the games because of injuries.
Bowling alley becomes battleground
The relationship took off in early December, when Reaves drove 10 minutes to Doncic’s new 8,000-square-foot minimalist mansion in Manhattan Beach. The home, purchased from Maria Sharapova during the offseason, hides a two-lane bowling alley in its basement. Reaves walked in to find Doncic, two of the guard’s friends, assistant coach Greg St. Jean and video coordinator Michael Wexler ready for a three-on-three showdown. Multiple games led to a final head-to-head round that each man insists he won.
Locker-room levity eases pressure
The back-and-forth banter has helped defuse potential flashpoints such as James’ advancing career, the franchise sale that cost Joey and Jesse Buss their front-office jobs, and Reaves’ decision to turn down an $89 million extension in June. Rookie Adou Thiero said the playful digs make criticism easier to accept because “we all know we have love for each other.”
Slow start to a quick bond
Doncic, acquired from Dallas midway through last season, initially kept to a tight circle that included former Mavericks colleagues Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith. The guard rarely spoke, prompting James to compare him to a rookie Reaves. Interaction increased after Doncic signed a $165 million extension in August. While the two-time All-NBA guard sang Backstreet Boys lyrics at The Sphere in Las Vegas, Reaves was in Xiamen, China, promoting his signature Rigorer shoes. A joking Instagram exchange that night signaled a turning point.
Complementary styles on the floor
Coaches spent the summer wondering how two ball-dominant creators might coexist. Their answer: simplicity. Head coach JJ Redick installed a straightforward offense that puts the ball in their hands without excess motion. The formula works: Doncic and Reaves combine for 61.4 points per game, second-highest by an NBA duo in the past 60 years, trailing only the 61.6 average of James Harden and Russell Westbrook in 2019-20, according to ESPN.
Both relentlessly attack the paint. The Lakers lead the league in points per direct drive, fueled by Reaves, who tops all players with at least 200 drives; Doncic ranks second, per GeniusIQ. Doncic is first in free-throw attempts, Reaves fourth, putting them on pace to become the first teammates to average at least nine attempts each since Harden and Dwight Howard in 2013-14. They have generated or assisted on 72 percent of the team’s made field goals when sharing the court (288 of 402).
Trading the scoring torch
Doncic opened the season with 92 points across the first two contests, including a 49-point, 11-rebound, eight-assist effort in a 128-110 win over Minnesota. After suffering a left finger sprain and lower leg contusion, he missed three games, and Reaves stepped in, averaging 40 points, 10 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals while guiding Los Angeles to a 2-1 record. The stretch convinced Doncic that, as one team source put it, “Austin is good!”
Competition never stops
The pair challenge each other in darts, cards and foosball—where Reaves concedes Doncic holds the edge—and on the golf course, which Doncic admits he avoids. Reaves even bet against Doncic’s Dallas Cowboys by picking the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15, despite not following football.
Defense remains the focus
Los Angeles sits 24th in defensive rating. Doncic, nursing a left calf contusion but optimistic about playing on Christmas Day, said he wants to regain the defensive form he showed early in the year. Reaves, recently back from a mild left calf strain that cost him three games, added the Lakers must “get healthy and log minutes together” to tighten rotations.
Friendship deepens
Reaves has since returned to Doncic’s house for more bowling and was spotted courtside with him at a South Bay Lakers game to support younger teammates. “We act like we’re 10-year-old best friends,” Reaves said, while Doncic summed up their bond simply: “We kind of understand each other.”
The Lakers resume play Thursday against the Houston Rockets, with their backcourt bromance still fueling one of the NBA’s most intriguing starts.
Source: ESPN
