“40 ball, old a**” - $53.8M Lakers guard trolls LeBron James after stellar game-winning effort

The LA Lakers bounced back with a win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, due in large part to LeBron James. The Lakers stumbled out of the All-Star break with a devastating three-point loss (100-97) to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

James' huge game against the Blazers ensured they would not lose two straight after the break. He scored a game-high 40 points while also registering eight rebounds and four assists. His efforts helped his team take the 110-102 victory.

After the game, Lakers guard Austin Reaves playfully teased him about his age. While James was being interviewed by reporter Mike Trudell, Reaves popped up to troll him.

"40 ball! Old a**," Reaves yelled.

LeBron James might have dropped the game-high in points, but Austin Reaves also played a huge part in the win. Reaves was the second-highest scorer in the game, adding 32 to James' 40.

Aside from his high-scoring effort, Reaves also helped set his teammates up by dishing seven dimes. He also did work on the defensive end by coming away with two steals and two blocks.

Reaves has emerged as the No. 3 player on the Lakers, first to James and Anthony Davis and now to James and Luka Doncic. He is currently in the second year of a four-year extension, which he signed in the summer of 2023. According to Sportrac, the total value of Reaves' contract is $53,827,872.

This season, Reaves is on pace to record his career-best averages yet with 19.1 points and 6.1 assists.

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LeBron James talks about integrating Luka Doncic into the Lakers system

After Austin Reaves trolled LeBron James for his age, reporter Mike Trudell resumed conducting the interview. The last question that Trudell asked the 40-year-old James was about Luka Doncic.

Specifically, Trudell asked about the importance of integrating Doncic into the Lakers system when he returns for the next game.

"It's not just next game," James replied. "It'll be a process for us for the rest of the season obviously. As he continues to learn what we wanna do offensively, defensively, our system, our calls, our cadence. And then we got to also learn from him as well. He's such a great, unbelievable talent, and we need to be able to play with him just as much as he needs to play with us."

Since being traded to the LA Lakers, Luka Doncic has only played three games. He debuted with the purple and gold on Feb. 10 against the Utah Jazz but was limited to 23 minutes of action. In that contest, he registered 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Doncic was once again available on Feb. 12, which was versus the Jazz again. In that game, he was once again given 23 minutes of action, where he scored 16 points.

The Slovenian star suited up against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. He saw the most minutes he's played in a Laker uniform in that contest with 33. He registered a 14-point and 11-rebound double-double in that outing.

He did not play against the Trail Blazers on Thursday due to injury management. However, he is expected to rejoin the lineup with LeBron James against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.