Austin Reaves gets honest about the hard work needed when recovering from an injury

Austin Reaves was the standout for the Los Angeles Lakers in their comeback win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. It was one of the most impressive performances of the night, as he scored 35 points in only 25 minutes.

Considering Luka Doncic went out with an injury during the game, the Lakers needed someone to step up. That is when Reaves kept showing that he deserves plaudits for his performances before he got injured.

Reaves' injury led to him working as hard as possible

When a player gets injured, some people might think that it is a good time to rest and kick back. That is not the case because elite athletes have to rehabilitate the injury, which is extremely difficult both mentally and physically.

Since Reaves injured his calf on Christmas, he has been hard at work for his return. He finally came back this week, and it only took him two games to have another standout performance for the Lakers.

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Reaves has admitted that he had a tough time during his spell on the sidelines. It was not fun, as he believes it is much better and easier to be out on the floor compared to rehabbing his injury.

"When you're out with an injury, I don't think it's what everybody thinks it is. It's not sitting around, doing nothing, honestly, you do more when you're hurt than when you're playing," Reaves said in his post-game interview.

He is making a good point because some people do have misconceptions regarding time away with an injury. They are testing the body even more, which has paid off for Reaves because he looks like an All-Star yet again.

Doncic might be sidelined with another injury, but the Lakers are lucky enough to have Reaves standing out as a top star.

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