Why is Austin Reaves not playing today against Golden State Warriors? Latest injury update from Lakers (October 7th)

Austin Reaves had a breakout season with the LA Lakers and a stellar performance for Team USA during the FIBA World Cup tournament in Manila. As such, he has quickly become one of the league's fan favorites. His performances last season led to him inking a four-year $56 million deal to remain with the Lakers, and fans cannot wait to see more of him.

Unfortunately, those fans will need to wait a little longer to see Austin Reaves play as he will not be suiting up in his team's first pre-season game against the Golden State Warriors.

Lakers fans don't need to worry as he is not sitting out because of an injury. It appears that the team's head coach, Darvin Ham, is simply giving him some time to rest after the FIBA World Cup.

Despite this, he has reportedly been playing phenomenally during the team's practices, according to his coach and all-star teammate Anthony Davis.

Reaves played great last season and he had a very long summer. Because of this, sitting him out during an exhibition game that will not affect the actual team standings is certainly a no-brainer. This will allow him to be in the best shape possible for when the season starts on October 24, 2023.

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Austin Reaves' teammate LeBron James will also sit out today's preseason opener against the Warriors

Austin Reaves is not the only Lakers star who will sit out in the team's first preseason game. LeBron James, who is 38 years old, will be unavailable as well.

Similar to Reaves, James is not sitting out due to an injury. He is simply limiting the amount of games that he will play prior to the actual start of the season.

As the oldest player in the league, limiting LeBron's minutes is certainly a wise decision. He has been playing great according to his coach but limiting a superstar's minutes during preseason is not a new tactic.

Sitting LeBron will help keep him fresh for when the regular season eventually kicks off. Doing so will be very important as his team is looking to make another deep playoff push.

The Lakers believe that they can win a championship this year if all their stars can remain healthy. As such, resting out both Austin Reaves and LeBron James during games that don't affect the standings makes perfect sense.