Austin Reaves delivered a career performance Sunday night, exploding for a personal-best 51 points along with 11 rebounds and nine assists as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 127-120 on the road for their second win of the season.After the game, the Lakers guard said the outburst wasn’t actually his highest scoring game ever, recalling a massive showing from his high school days.“In high school, I scored 73. It was triple overtime,” he said. “I shot a lot of free throws; I only made four 3s that game. It was very high pace. They full-court man, run-and-jump every possession.”That 2015 performance came during his senior year at Cedar Ridge High School, where he posted 55 points through regulation, including 15 in the fourth quarter, before adding 18 more across three overtimes to lift his team to a 117-115 win.As a senior, Reaves averaged 32.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, leading Cedar Ridge to its third state title in four years and earning First Team All-Arkansas Prep honors.He played college basketball at two programs, starting at Wichita State, where his role was limited, before transferring to Oklahoma, where he averaged 16.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 3.7 apg.Despite going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Austin Reaves signed with the Lakers as a free agent.Austin Reaves discusses career-best night vs. KingsAustin Reaves has been on fire to open the 2025-26 season, stepping up amid injuries to LeBron James and Luka Doncic. He is averaging 34.0 ppg, 9.7 apg and 7.7 rpg per game for the Lakers, who improved to 2-1 with the win in Sacramento.After the game, Reaves was asked what has helped unlock his game despite the team’s injuries.“I feel like I’m just playing the game I love and trying to play the right way, do the right things on and off the court,” he said. “You can’t take shortcuts. My teammates and coaching staff let me be myself, and that’s a big reason why I’m able to play the way I play — to play confident.”He added that offseason workouts and conversations with Lakers coach JJ Redick have helped shape his approach this season.“I just wanna do what I can to help the team be successful,” he said.Next up for the Lakers is the second night of a back-to-back, as they face the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.