Imagine someone filling in for Luka Doncic and ending up exceeding expectations. That was the story of Austin Reaves last night, single-handedly decimating the Detroit Pistons. He has repeatedly shown he can carry the offense when the superstar is unavailable. After his latest scoring explosion, a Los Angeles Lakers legend has made a strong case for where Reaves belongs: On the All-Star floor.
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Reaves delivered a season-high 43 points to lead the Lakers to a 121-116 victory over the Pistons, with Doncic sidelined by lower-back tightness.
Following the performance, a series of questions arose. Is he an All-Star-level player? Can he win games without Luka Doncic consistently? Can the Lakers trust him as the No.2 option?
“There’s no question,” said Lakers legend James Worthy, answering those questions on Access, Spectrum SportsNet. “For me, even when Luka is on the floor, Austin Reaves still has the ability to, you know, take over games, provide the offense, you know, provide some good stability for this team.”
Most importantly, Worthy followed it with the bold All-Star claim.
“But with Luka out of the game, and he’s the number one guy, he’s definitely showing you that he’s an All-Star this year, in my opinion. He’s already proven that. And he saves us every time,” added Worthy.
The endorsement comes after Austin Reaves took on the responsibility of creating offense against one of the league’s toughest defensive teams. His biggest moment arrived late, when he knocked down an off-balance step-back three with 46 seconds remaining to extend the Lakers’ lead to 112-104, and eventually scored the final two points of the game on free throws with two seconds left to help seal the result.
Reaves has made this kind of scoring leap look increasingly normal.
With LeBron James no longer part of the Lakers’ roster, his responsibilities have grown, and he has responded with a career-best scoring average. He entered the Pistons game averaging 23.5 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per contest, while shooting 50.7% from the field.
The 43-point performance added another example of how much the Lakers can ask of him when their primary scorer is unavailable.
His scoring ceiling is not entirely new, either.
Reaves recorded a career-high 51 points against the Sacramento Kings in 2025, showing that he could produce a major offensive night well before this season’s expanded role. The difference now is the regularity with which he is being asked to shoulder that responsibility.
Collin Sexton, who contributed 17 points against Detroit, also acknowledged the challenge of replacing Luka Doncic’s production.
“Guys have to step up when someone’s averaging 40,” said Sexton. “You got to fill the shoes and be ready to impact winning. And I felt like we did that tonight, and AR picked those shoes up, and he wore them.”
That matters for Austin Reaves’ All-Star case.
Fan popularity has helped him attract attention in previous voting cycles. But selection also depends on how coaches, players, and the media evaluate his overall impact. In the last season, he earned 1,120,489 votes, which was more than James Harden and Devin Booker.
A sustained scoring role, combined with the ability to keep the Lakers competitive without Doncic, gives him a better shot at All-Star. He has a stronger basketball argument than popularity alone.
Worthy’s assessment also points to something beyond the numbers.
Austin Reaves does not need Doncic to disappear from the lineup to influence games. He can remain productive alongside him and still take over when the offense needs another creator. That flexibility is valuable for a team whose ambitions depend on having more than one reliable source of offense.
Though the Lakers will still need Doncic healthy and available for the challenges ahead, if Reaves maintains this level of production, the All-Star conversation will become increasingly difficult to ignore.