Austin Reaves Told Crushing Story of Bonding With Anthony Davis, His Son Before Trade

Kristen Wong | Feb 5, 2025

Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) celebrates with guard Austin Reaves (right) during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is taking the Anthony Davis trade news harder than most.

Reaves recently opened up about the blockbuster NBA swap that sent Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Luka Doncic in a stunning three-team trade, telling reporters that he was still in shock and felt like he had “an empty pit in my stomach.”

Days after the big move, Reaves quickly got acquainted with his new Lakers teammate during Tuesday night’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He and Doncic had front row seats to watch LeBron James and son Bronny play on the court, but there was another father-son duo that was on Reaves’s mind following the game.

The Lakers guard was visibly emotional in a postgame presser as he shared a sweet story about bonding with Davis and his son during team bus rides.

“After a couple games here recently, we’ve been on the bus and AD would bring his phone up to me,” Reaves said. “It would be his kid, and he would be telling AD, ‘I want to talk to Reaves.’ And I would always tell him to do the celebration [mimics ice in veins celebration], and he would start doing it. So, just little things like that are why it’s tough.”

“I want to talk to Reaves.” 😔💔

Austin Reaves shares an emotional story about how brutal the NBA trade deadline can be.

This particular story involves getting close with Anthony Davis and his son in the weeks prior to being traded to Dallas.#Lakers #AnthonyDavis #LukaDoncic pic.twitter.com/MGIri7s03p

— Andrew Robinson (@_itseazyy) February 5, 2025

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and Mavs general manager Nico Harrison would probably tell Reaves that the trade was just business, but there is a personal and human aspect to these ground-shaking moves that often leaves behind painful repercussions for those indirectly involved.

“Forgetting all the basketball stuff, just being—I’ve been around AD for four years and then been around Max [Christie] for three, you create real relationships with these guys and that’s been the toughest part for me,” Reaves said.

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