Why is Austin Reaves not playing against Warriors? Exploring why Lakers elect to rest him for preseason opener 

After deciding to rest LeBron James, the LA Lakers will keep Austin Reaves on the sidelines for their preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors. The division rivals clash on Sunday (October 7th) at Chase Center in a rematch of the 2023 conference semis.

The Lakers are planning to monitor LeBron's minutes in his 21st season. His absence for the preseason opener isn't too surprising. However, resting Reaves is a bit of a surprise, as he's among the younger players on the team.

However, the Lakers have a legitimate reason for not playing Reaves. According to Lakers' beat Mike Trudell, the Purple and Gold have decided to bench the third-year guard after the grueling shift he put in for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup over a month ago.

Reaves was the only Laker active this summer on a competitive stage. It's been over a month, but getting more rest doesn't seem like a bad idea, as he was a reliable rotation player for the Americans.

Reaves played all eight games as Team USA finished fourth. He also participated in five showcase games leading up to the tournament. Reaves played 21.8 minutes per game in the FIBA World Cup, the third highest on the team.

That came after Austin Reaves had played significant minutes for the Lakers in their conference finals run in the playoffs, where he averaged 36.2 minutes per game in 16 appearances.

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Austin Reaves gets a full season as a starter

Austin Reaves cracked a starting spot on the LA Lakers midway through his sophomore season. His growing role in the Lakers' offense helped him secure that role and become one of their undisputed starters during their playoff run to the conference finals.

His role has been up and down thus far, but with significant minutes, Reaves proved to coach Darvin Ham that he deserves a spot next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The undrafted guard out of Oklahoma City now gets a season under his belt as a starter.

Reaves carried the roles of an additional ball-handler and a third option offensively for the Lakers on making the starting lineup. He will be expected to continue that and contribute more, with the Lakers aiming to monitor LeBron's minutes, especially at the start of the season.

After signing a four-year $56 million contract this summer, Austin Reaves shut his doubters, who didn't believe he deserved that deal, with a consistent showing this summer. The Lakers will hope that he can translate that into the new season and guide them to the Championship.