Austin Reaves is already talking trash ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers’ upcoming team trip to Slovenia.
Luka Doncic is organizing a four-day player-led minicamp in his home country later this month, giving a new-look Lakers roster an early opportunity to build chemistry before training camp.
But Reaves already has one particular part of the trip circled: golf.
“I’m gonna kick his ass in golf,” Reaves said Saturday, according to Eurohoops journalist Johnny Askounis. “That’ll be a lot of fun. But it’ll just be good to get around everybody. We got a fairly new team, a lot of new guys, so it’ll just be good to be around them, get to know one another off the court and just build that chemistry there.”
Reaves made the comments while in Hong Kong as part of his annual China tour with signature sneaker partner Rigorer.
The Slovenia trip is expected to feature team workouts, sightseeing around Ljubljana and several team-bonding activities, including the golf outings that have already created some friendly competition between Doncic and Reaves.
Doncic only began playing golf in March after developing an interest in the sport through Reaves and former Lakers teammate LeBron James, according to Askounis. Reaves has also claimed he has beaten Doncic in every sport they’ve competed against each other in outside of basketball.
The trip carries a more important purpose than settling their golf rivalry, though.
Los Angeles underwent significant changes this offseason following James’ departure, leaving Doncic and Reaves at the center of the franchise heading into the 2026-27 season.
The Lakers also added several new faces to the roster, including Sandro Mamukelashvili, Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle.
With so many new pieces arriving, Reaves made it clear the biggest benefit of traveling to Slovenia will be spending time together away from basketball.
And while Doncic will be hoping the minicamp helps establish the foundation for a championship run, he’ll apparently have to worry about protecting his reputation on the golf course first.
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