Austin Reaves is a star — and his intentionally missed free throw was one of his biggest highlights

Austin Reaves has a duality about him. 

He’s goofy, self-deprecating and humble. He’s a country boy from Newark, Arkansas, a town with a population of fewer than 2,000 people. He’s a star who still grapples with being a star. He has imposter syndrome even though he’s on the verge of a maximum contract. 

But he’s also supremely confident — or, as he describes it, he has “delusional confidence.” 

When Lakers coach JJ Redick asked him to do the nearly impossible Saturday against the Nuggets, that wavered for a moment. 

With 5.2 seconds left and the Lakers down, 118–116, Redick wanted Reaves to intentionally miss a free throw in such a precise manner that it would give him a chance to catch the rebound, score and force overtime. 

It’s a Herculean task, really. Just ask LeBron James, who’s the only NBA player to have played 23 seasons.

“We haven’t seen it much,” James said. “So, it’s a very difficult thing because none of us practice to miss free throws. No matter what your percentage is, you just don’t practice missing free throws.”

Funny enough, Reaves had a bit of experience.

Back when he was in high school playing AAU basketball, he intentionally missed a free with his team trailing by 10 points. He caught the rebound and made a 3-pointer. But it made no difference. His team lost. 

Then, before this season, when the Lakers were doing a five-minute, pickup-style scrimmage and his team was down by two points, he tried that move again. He purposely missed his one free throw, caught it and made a reverse layup to tie the score. 

But on Saturday, the stakes were different.

The Lakers were playing the Nuggets, a team that eliminated them in the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024. Adding to the pressure, the Lakers entered Saturday’s game having won four games in a row and seven of their last eight contests. The basketball world was looking toward this game as a test to see how the Lakers would respond to yet another team that was considered a real contender.

So, Reaves, you know, was a little nervous. When asked how confident he was that he could execute such a difficult play as he stood on the free-throw line, he didn’t hesitate.

“Not very,” he said. “I mean, I knew I was going to miss. I wasn’t going to give the ball an opportunity to go in.”

Reaves dribbled once. He tossed the ball toward the front of the rim. It made contact, ricocheting to the left. Reaves then made the perfect read, chased his rebound before anyone had a chance to react and then made a nine-foot floating jumper to tie the score at 118–118 and force overtime.

It was artistry.

“It’s not easy,” said Reaves, who had a team-high 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists. “I’m just mad I had to mess up my free-throw percentage.”

After chuckling along with reporters, Reaves explained what was going through his mind in that moment.

“You see two people on the right side, one was on the left, obviously DA [Deandre Ayton] and Joker [Nikola Jokić] were on the left side,” he said. “I thought if I threw it fast enough that Jokić wouldn’t have the time to get his hands up to grab the ball. So, that was kind of the thought process and it worked.”

It was the highlight of the most fun Laker game this season.

That’s a big statement, considering the other highlights included the 41-year-old James sacrificing his body by doing a full extension dive for a loose ball with under 1 minute left for potentially the first time in his career, as well as Luka Dončić making a game-winning step-back 18-footer with 0.5 seconds left in overtime to give the Lakers a 127–125 win.

Reaves’ missed free throw and converted basket to force overtime was stunning. It’s so hard to do. It required him throwing the ball at the perfect height and speed, one which he never practiced other than those two outlying moments as a teenager and during the offseason. 

It required Ayton boxing out the 6-foot-11, 284-pound Jokić, who was foaming at the mouth to play spoiler to Reaves’ big moment. It required Reaves having cat-like reflexes to perfectly anticipate where the ball was going to fly. And then it required him making a jumper with 1.9 seconds left. 

The crowd went wild. The scene at LA’s Crypto.com Arena was electric.

The often-intense Redick had a serene look on his face as he talked to reporters after the game. He couldn’t contain his half-smile when asked about Reaves’ hand-eye coordination. 

“It’s a hell of a basketball play,” Redick said. “He’s got good touch. He’s got good touch, I’ll say that. He’s a good bowler. Apparently good in ping pong, although he hasn’t played me yet. Pickleball, tennis, golf, all those things.”

Clearly, he’s not so bad at basketball either. Before Reaves suffered a calf injury on Christmas that sidelined him all of January, he was a top-10 scorer in the league and was in the All-Star conversation.

Funny enough, just two days earlier, Reaves was asked about a revealing moment a few seasons ago that shows how he sees himself in a different light.

At the time, James called Reaves a star in the locker room. Reaves then quipped, “Fake it ’til you make it.”

As for whether Reaves believes James’ words now?

“Nah, not really, to be honest with you,” Reaves said Thursday after the Lakers beat the Bulls. “Still feels weird.”

But once again, Reaves was front and center of the basketball world Saturday.

After forcing overtime, cameras caught him holding the basketball with both hands, looking down and saying, “I love you.”

Apparently, his Tom Hanks moment from “Castaway” was out of character.

“I don’t really say much to the ball,” he said. “It’s usually bad words. It’s usually when it’s not acting right.”

But on Saturday, Spalding deserved some praise.

And so did Reaves, an unassuming star who’s going to need to come to terms with his new reality.

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