Lakers forward, LeBron James has praised the contribution of shooting guard, Austin Reaves, after the Lakers secured a first-round win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their series.

The Lakers run out 128-112 winners over the Grizzlies, with a power fourth-quarter showing which saw them go on a 15-0 run. Guard, Reaves contributed nine of the 15 and ended the game with 23 points on his playoff debut.

In August 2021, Reaves signed a two-way contract with the LA franchise after going undrafted in the 2021 draft, before signing a standard NBA contract in September that same year.

“I knew from the first practice that he wasn’t going to be a two-way player for long,” LeBron said post-game of the Grizzlies win. “I know the type of players that fit with my game. I knew Austin would be that.”

Besides his 23 points, the second-year guard had four assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes, and in crunch time, a solo effort saw him knock down a clutch bucket with Reaves delivering a two word message: “I’m HIM!”

Post-game, he explained: “It’s a lot of emotions. You dream about being on a stage like this, it’s the playoffs. I got hot late and I had fun”.

Another player who had fun was forward, Rui Hachimura. The 6’8″ Japanese contributed 29 points on 11/14 FG and 6 rebounds in 30 minutes.