Austin Reaves agrees to four-year, $185 million maximum contract with Lakers

Austin Reaves intends to sign a four-year, $185 million maximum contract with the Los Angeles Lakers that includes a player option for the 2029-30 season, ESPN reported. Reaves declined his $14.9 million player option for the upcoming season to clear the way for the new deal. The agreement, reached Wednesday, makes the contract the richest in NBA history for an undrafted player.

Lakers ownership and front-office representatives met with Reaves and his agents at the team's practice facility shortly after the NBA Finals. The meeting, held within the last 10 days, featured personalized "AR"-initialed pillows and Reaves' favorite country music. Reaves was on a golf course when his representatives finalized the deal.

His longtime girlfriend posted a photo of him lying on the grass in celebration. A source close to Reaves described his emotions as "great relief" and said Reaves wants to be a Laker for life and considers winning a championship for Los Angeles his most important goal.

The agreement does not affect the Lakers' cap flexibility this summer because the team's projected salary space already accounts for Reaves' $20.9 million cap hold.

Reaves will sign last, after the Lakers use their available room, and will earn $41.3 million in the first year. Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said during exit interviews that Reaves' return was a priority. "He started his journey here as a Laker and has made it very clear to us that he wants his journey to continue as a Laker," Pelinka said.

Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game last season while shooting 49 percent from the field and 36 percent from three-point range. He appeared in a career-low 51 games because of calf and oblique injuries. The oblique injury caused him to miss the start of the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets.