In Photos: Austin Reaves' 300-acre farm life in Arkansas before signing $54,000,000 Lakers deal

Austin Reaves has become a fan-favorite since he joined the LA Lakers a couple of years ago. His elite three-point shooting and his ability to give something extra to the team's playing style have made him a key part of the rotation, as the Lakers are preparing for the start of the regular season next week.

However, it wasn't all that easy for him in his rise to stardom as a player of the 17-time NBA champions. Reaves went undrafted before joining the Lakers in the summer of 2021.

Before that, he spent his childhood in Newark, Arkansas, on his mother's 300-acre farm and he had to choose between farming or pursuing another career. Being a farmer wasn't what the young guard wanted to do, even though his mother's farm in Arkansas is impressive. Here are some photos of the farm:

Austin Reaves on his mother’s farm in Newark, Arkansas (Photo credit: Steven Jones / For The Times)

Austin Reaves in his300-acre farm in Newark, Arkansas (Photo credit: Steven Jones / For The Times)

Reaves and his mother, Nicole Wilkett, playing basketball in their 300-acre farm (Photo credit: Steven Jones / For The Times)

Austin Reaves at the family house in Newark, Arkansas (Photo credit: Steven Jones / For The Times)

He eventually chose to become a basketball player. Now as a key part of the rotation, Austin Reaves was rewarded with a new, four-year deal with the Lakers, worth $54 million.

Austin Reaves says he had no desire to leave the Lakers in free agency

Austin Reaves wanted to be part of the LA Lakers long-term and despite his free agent status, he was not willing to sign with another team, even though he considered other offers:

"You know, it definitely creeps into your mind, obviously, when there's a little bit of talks back and forth about, you know, something possibly coming to light," Reaves said on the Lowe podcast with Zach Lowe.

"But I didn't think there was any way that the Lakers didn't match whatever was offered. They pretty much made it pretty clear that they were gonna match whatever. You think about it a little bit, but at the end of the day, I wanted to be in L.A."

Despite his impressive stint with the Lakers in the 2022-23 season, there are still fans who consider him overrated. However, the young star guard considers it normal and finds extra motivation through this doubt.

"You’re getting paid that to be successful. And there’s obviously people out there that think I wasn’t worth that. … You hear those things, and you just [get] fuel off of that," Reaves said while speaking with Mirin Fader of The Ringer.

"He’s one of my favorite people. We valued him very highly. We didn’t want to see him go somewhere else," Lakers’ owner Jeannie Buss told Fader and the The Ringer.

Austin Reaves is coming off a season where he averaged 13.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 3.4 apg in 64 games, on 52.9 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc. This past summer, he made his debut with Team USA as well, playing in the FIBA World Cup, where the Americans finished fourth.