Austin Reaves has a new $184 million contract, but he isnt allowing the massive payday to change his approach with the Los Angeles Lakers.Reaves agreed to a four-year, $184 million deal during the offseason, finally landing a contract that better reflects his standing as one of the Lakers most important players.Naturally, the deal brings increased expectations, but Reaves isnt concerned about proving hes worth the money. His focus remains on helping Los Angeles win.It doesnt really matter to me. In a sense, there has to be. I would assume that people would look at it that way, but at the end of the day, like, I got to go out there and play basketball and Ive been playing basketball for 15 years now, Reaves told ESPN LA radio at Lakers Media Day. Its the same thing Ive done since I was a kid and Im going to enjoy it the way that Ive always enjoyed it. The main thing is winning. If you go out there and win, nobody really if I have 15 points and we win, its better than me having 30 [points] and losing. So just figuring out how to win games and win games at the highest level is the main thing for me.The contract represents another major step in Reaves unlikely rise.He entered the NBA on a two-way deal before eventually signing a four-year, $54 million contract with Los Angeles. His production quickly outpaced that deal as he developed into one of the leagues better guards.Reaves continued that progression during the 2025-26 season, while also developing promising offensive chemistry alongside Luka Doncic, according to Jackson Frank of Silver Screen and Roll.Now, the expectations surrounding Reaves will be significantly different.Instead of being viewed as an undrafted success story outperforming his contract, hell enter the season as a $184 million player expected to be a major part of the Lakers pursuit of a championship.But Reaves doesnt appear interested in measuring his success by individual numbers.Whether its 15 points or 30, his priority remains the same: winning basketball games at the highest level.READ MORE: Warriors Could Face Major Kristaps Porzingis Decision
