An endorsement from LeBron James and Luka Doncic doesn’t come lightly – especially when it happens away from the court. While Austin Reaves remains sidelined with a calf injury, the Lakers guard has still found a way to command attention, drawing a public reaction from both of his superstar teammates.

In his latest post on Thursday, Reeves announced his collaboration with clothing brand YoungLA. He posted a post on Instagram, featuring a series of pictures of him rocking YoungLA’s black and white Fight Week Tracksuit. Both James and Doncic showed love to their teammates in the comments. The 41-year-old veteran reacted with a series of fire emojis, while Doncic reacted with a ‘money bag’ emoji.

The collaboration announcement from Reaves comes shortly after the Cleveland Cavaliers game. The previous timeline of his return had fans excited for his return against the Cavaliers on Wednesday. However, the injury report revealed that he was out of action for the night.

Lakers coach JJ Redick has previously said that Reaves would return “sooner rather than later,” However, after the Cavs game, fans are not sure when exactly Reaves will return.

However, all the recent developments indicate that he might be ready to make his comeback at any time. “The Lakers are still hopeful they will get Reaves back in the lineup at some point on this road trip,” Dave McMenamin said.

“There’s still three more games after the Cleveland game. They go to D.C. to play the Wizards, then they go to New York for a pair of games against the Knicks and the Nets.”

“Austin’s been ramping up behind the scenes, playing in what they call ‘stay ready’ games, basically five-on-five with some of the bench players and some of the coaches, and so far there have been no setbacks whatsoever.”

Calf strains have emerged as a troubling trend this NBA season, raising red flags for potential Achilles issues down the line. High-profile ruptures in recent playoffs—like those suffered by Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum—highlighted the risk, and now we’re seeing it play out again among key players. Currently, several starters and role players are sidelined:

• Evan Mobley: Out with a calf injury, expected to miss at least one week.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo: Dealing with a similar issue, projected to sit for another 1-2 weeks.

Reaves has been sidelined for five weeks now, but the lack of setbacks in his rehab is great news for the Lakers. They’re even pushing back his return date, which just shows how cautious they’re being with his injury.

Reaves’ return could prove to be a big boost for the Lakers, but they have to be extra careful

During the offseason, JJ Redick pulled aside Reaves and told him that he was past the time when people viewed him as an undrafted player who had exceeded expectations. The Lakers coach was more than clear to Reaves that he was as important as the other stars on the team and that he had to step up as the Lakers’ leader.

What Reaves did before the injury was embody the confidence that Redick gave him.

As the 2025-26 season has progressed, it is becoming clearer with every game that without Reaves, the Lakers don’t have a chance against multiple teams in the West. He gives the Purple & Gold a good chance against any formidable opponent in the league.

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He helped the Lakers open the season with an impressive 8-3 record without LeBron James and put on an offensive clinic in games without Luka Doncic.

Before his injury, Reaves averaged 27.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.0 steals in 22 games. While the Lakers are 15-8 with him, they are 11-9 without him. In a tight Western Conference, the Lakers need him in the lineup if they want to win games.

However, it is even more important that Austin Reaves is fully healthy and does not rush his return.

“They want to make sure he’s completely comfortable by the time he goes into the lineup,” McMenamin added. “So it’s not like a stop-and-start type of situation, where he plays a game or two, then needs to rest because that calf isn’t feeling fully right just yet.”

The Lakers are currently ranked 5th in the conference. They are just .5 wins ahead of the Phoenix Suns at the 7th spot, but also .5 wins behind the Houston Rockets for the 4th spot.