Austin Reaves and LeBron James are thriving in their mentee-mentor dynamic, but it wasn't always smooth sailing. According to Reaves, he didn't warm up to James when the NBA's all-time leading scorer attempted to take him under his wing as a rookie in 2021.

During an interview with Taylor Gaes of NBA.com, Reaves revealed that James was hard on him, particularly during a two-week stretch. Reaves grew so frustrated that he longed for a break from James. Turns out, James had a specific motivation for pressing Reaves early on.

Coach JJ Redick's Los Angeles Lakers slipped to fifth place in the Western Conference in recent days, in a deadlock with coach Ime Udoka's Houston Rockets, following the recent trade that brought Luka Doncic to the City of Angels.