Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves On Exchanging Jerseys With Dallas Mavericks’ Anthony Davis: ‘I Owe Him A Lot’
After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night in their NBA Cup game, Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis exchanged jerseys.
Reaves wanted to swap jerseys with Davis for a few reasons.
“He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball,” Austin Reaves said about Anthony Davis. “I don’t know why he wanted my jersey, but for me to get his, it’s pretty fun. … I got a lot of love for AD. He’s a big reason that [I am] where I’m at right now. From day one, he was telling me to be myself, don’t be anybody else. Continue to work and, really, just be myself on the court. So I owe him a lot.”
Reaves and Davis were teammates on the Lakers for three and a half seasons before Los Angeles traded Davis to Dallas in the blockbuster Luka Dončić trade last season. Lakers fans gave Davis a loud applause in pregame introductions. The future Hall of Famer helped Los Angeles win the 2020 championship against the Miami Heat.
In a game that featured Dončić, Davis and LeBron James, Reaves was the leading scorer. The undrafted guard finished with 38 points while shooting 12-of-15 from the field, 6-of-8 from 3 and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
The Lakers improved to 14-4 on the season, while the Mavericks dropped to 5-15.
Davis, who had been sidelined since Oct. 29 because of a left calf strain, finished with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks in his return to Los Angeles. He was 6-of-10 shooting and didn’t attempt a free throw in 28 minutes, slightly exceeding the minutes restriction that had been set.
“We weren’t really trying to force anything,” Davis said. “They were kind of double-teaming every time I caught the ball. As soon as I catch it and turn around, it was two guys in my face. I was just trying to make the right play with the pass. The shots [will] come to me when I have an opportunity to score, but the rhythm’s going to get there.”
The Mavericks face the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Davis won’t play.
Meanwhile, the Lakers host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
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