Austin Reaves to stay with Lakers on record-setting $185M contract
· Yahoo Sports
One of the biggest potential free agents ahead of the 2026 NBA offseason is off the market before he reached it.
Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves intends to sign a new max contract to remain with the team, according to multiplereports. Reaves and the Lakers have reportedly agreed to a 4-year, $185-million contract after he declined a $14.9-million player option for the 2026-27 season in his current deal.
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It is believed to be the largest NBA contract for an undrafted player, surpassing the $90-million deal Duncan Robinson signed with the Miami Heat in 2020.
Reaves, 28, went undrafted in 2021 after playing college basketball at Wichita State and Oklahoma, but latched on with the Lakers as a free agent. His scoring average has increased every year he's been in the NBA, culminating with a career-high 23.3 points per game this past season.
Reaves also averaged 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds, while shooting 49% from the field in 51 games during the 2025-26 campaign. He suffered an oblique injury late in the regular season that forced him to miss the beginning of the playoffs as well.
The Lakers now have both Reaves and star Luka Doncic signed as a backcourt tandem for at least the next two seasons. Doncic signed a new 3-year max contract extension with the Lakers in August 2025 that includes a player option for the 2028-29 season.
LeBron James still looms as a pending free agent for the Lakers this offseason, and center DeAndre Ayton and guard Marcus Smart each have player options they could exercise rather than enter NBA free agency.
Austin Reaves contract details
The 4-year, $185-million extension matches the maximum amount of money Reaves could have received from teams other than the Lakers had he chosen to enter free agency this year.
Here's a breakdown of how the annual salary breakdown of the contract could look, according to NBA salary cap reporter Keith Smith:
The Lakers and Austin Reaves agreed to a four-year maximum contract his new $185M contract. Here's how that deal will look:
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 24, 2026
26-27: $41.3M
27-28: $44.6M
28-29: $47.9M
29-30: $51.2M (player option)
Reaves' deal will get signed after the Lakers use their cap space, should they…
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Austin Reaves contract: Lakers to sign guard to 4-year, $185M deal