Lakers News: LeBron James Confirms He Has Trust in Specific Teammate to Close Games Out

Matt Levine | Mar 29, 2024

Los Angeles Lakers v Memphis Grizzlies / Justin Ford/GettyImages

The Los Angeles Lakers will be looking to make another deep playoff run this season, even if the odds are stacked against them. Currently, Los Angeles sits in 9th place within the Western Conference standings, but they have started to play much more consistent basketball of late.

They are fighting for their playoff lives and would love to move themselves up in the standings to avoid having to win two play-in tournament games. If they can reach the postseason, anything can happen for this team.

The Lakers have shown that they can compete with anyone in the league, but it's all about reaching the dance first. Star LeBron James knows this all too well and will be relying on similar guys from last season to help get this team through the playoff grind.

James revealed on his new podcast, Mind the Game, with former NBA guard JJ Redick that he trusts one specific teammate to close out games. That would be guard Austin Reaves, who showed James his mentality during the postseason last year.

Bron confirms the trust he has in Austin Reaves to close games and alludes to testing him in last year’s playoffs vs Memphis, “I play a lot of chess…on the court” pic.twitter.com/dVGC2kaSvf

— 🏆LakersGuru🏆 (@GuruLakers) March 27, 2024

Reaves stepped up in a huge way for the Lakers last season, helping to earn himself a brand new contract from the team over the summer. He was massive in their game one victory on the road in the first round last year against the Memphis Grizzlies and James knew from then that he could fully trust the young guard.

The biggest issue that players have during playoff time is that the lights can be too bright for them. But Reaves showed that he shined brightest when the pressure was on, much to the enjoyment of James.

For the Lakers to reach their goals this season, Reaves will need to have another strong playoff run. James and co-star Anthony Davis can't do it all themselves, so they will need others to step up just like they did last season.