That's love for the team, Austin Reaves reveals the real reason why he wasn't drafted

A lot has been said about Austin Reaves becoming a rising star this season with the Lakers without being drafted into the NBA in the first place, but the real reason behind that has been revealed.

While Reaves is tagged as an undrafted NBA player, the Arkansas native had a chance to be picked by the Detroit Pistons. However, upon receiving an offer from the Los Angeles Lakers, Reaves declined and opted to be an undrafted player instead. For Reaves, it's a matter of being in a team where he fits best.

"The night before, the Lakers had called and said if for some reason I go undrafted, that they wanted to be the first place that said 'hey, we've got a two-way for you,'" Reaves said. "And so going into the draft, we knew that I was gonna have a two-way contract in L.A., so we were in a good place with contract stuff and things like that," Reaves said per the 94 & More Podcast.

"So going into the draft, we didn't press," Reaves continued. "I think Detroit called at like 41 or 42, whichever pick they had, and were like, 'we'll take him on a two-way,' It was just more a situation where I wanted to be where we saw the best fit."

Austin Reaves is possibly signing again with the Lakers

Given his stellar performance, especially this season, analysts say Reaves is bound to ink a $50 million, four-year deal in the offseason. However, he'll be a restricted free agent this season, which means if Austin Reaves gets an offer from another team, the Lakers can field a counteroffer.