The Los Angeles Lakers officially clinched the third seed in the Western Conference on Friday with a 140-109 victory over a very short-handed Houston Rockets squad. They will play their final regular-season game on Sunday versus the Portland Trail Blazers, but the outcome of that game will be mostly inconsequential, especially since they will likely rest at least a few of their starters.
It is time to start imagining the possibilities of this year's playoffs for the Lakers with Luka Doncic, a less burdened LeBron James and the blossoming Austin Reaves. Yes, they have a couple of roster weaknesses, but with the parity across the league, anything could be possible over the next several weeks.
Reaves made a bold and confident statement by saying he feels L.A. can win the NBA championship this season.
Austin Reaves: “I feel like we can win a championship, to be honest with you.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 12, 2025
Reaves scored 23 points on Friday on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Doncic has made life easier for him, and he has averaged 24.9 points on 52.4% field-goal shooting and 42.4% from 3-point range in his last 17 games.
How many big games on demand he has moving forward will likely be one key factor in how far the Purple and Gold will go in the postseason this year and whether they will end up doing what he feels they can ultimately do.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Austin Reaves' bold statement on Lakers' potential in playoffs
