Kiss cams have shot many a Cupid’s Jumbotron arrow at partnerships. People who swear to each other that they’re just a friend. Old married couples. Cheating colleagues at a Coldplay concert. But when the Crypto.com Arena ‘Kiss Cam’ put a heart around Los Angeles Lakers players Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves last weekend, the moment was comedy gold for the purple brothers.
Luka’s look said it all. You can get that idea right out of your head.
The Don and AR-15 are currently side-lined indefinitely after suffering season-ending injuries right when the Lakers were on a surge, proving all the Stephen’s and all the A Smith’s wrong. Coming into the 2026 NBA Playoffs, it looks like it’s on LeBron again to perform sunglasses and headphones, three games down in the Finals heroics. All at 41 years of age.
The first-round match-up with Kevin Durant’s Houston Rockets has the makings of one for the ages and sages. Even Alperen Sengun knows to stand for the King and respect his elders. LBJ gave LAL a double-double of 19 points and 13 assists in a Game One 107-98 victory for the Lake Show. All as veteran defensive stalwart Marcus Smart held it down in the interim.
Yet it was trade deadline pick-up Luke Kennard (27 points) who provided the magic, like his buzzer-beater against Orlando. Proving once again, traded for erratic Gabe Vincent and a second-round pick, that Rob Pelinka may actually be a genius.
Starting the season, mind you, it was The King who had a dent in his crown. Year jersey number 23 looked like it was going to head to the rafters quicker than first thought. In his stead the Lakers, looking like an old rival Celtic team, had a big blockbuster backcourt in Hollywood.
The centrepiece of the biggest trade in NBA history, Luka Dončić, was now the man in LA. Shooting his mouth off with shots that had everyone picking theirs up from the hardwood. Meanwhile, the one-time ‘Hillbilly Kobe’, Austin Reaves, was proving to Bean’s town that he was more than just a third-string player as he strapped that headband on.
The pair, and best backcourt since the Splash Brothers of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson out in California’s Golden State, were the highest scoring duo in all the land, not just LeBron’s or a Laker one. Even when the NBA’s leader in points per game, Luka, was out for the Lakers, hurt, or undergoing technical difficulties, AR stepped up to shoot the city of star’s lights out.
Proving to be the leader in reserve, that Lakers, and former top ten draft picks, Rui Hachimura (thriving in a new Robert Horry like Sixth Man role) and Deandre Ayton (taken first overall and over Luka in the 2018 Draft) were originally envisioned to be.
All before the SLAM cover curse came for him.
And to think Austin Reaves went undrafted. Now, in his contract year, he’s set for a big pay day. To the supermax like Napheesa Collier. Surely, he’ll stay with the squad that signed him and kept him following training camp, after every other team passed hard. Yet the Lakers need to pay Austin and not play him like defensive champion Alex Caruso, who also came from nothing and now has everything. Not to mention a ring without a bubble around it.
If Reaves remains a Laker, they’ll be celebrating in the city like the return of Nneka Ogwumike to the purple and gold sisterhood of LA Sparks. As seen in practice, he could come back soon, too, if the Lakers manage to get out of the first round and aren’t grounded by the Rockets. Just like Luka, who traveled home to Slovenia to see a specialist and expedite his return to the floor.
Yet if this doesn’t materialize, or matter, come the second round, has this dynamic duo of floor generals played their last game together?
We sure hope not for the best comic double-act in the L. One that knows how to hand out a few of those capital letters to opponents, too. The banter has been brilliant all season long for a perfect pair who see themselves like “ten-year-old best friends.”
Whether over dunks, or post-game comments, these two lovable Lakers act like they couldn’t care less for each other, but that’s a basketball bond of brotherhood that has them leading this band of Lakers with a ba dum tiss. An on-court camaraderie captured that is compelling and catching on with the rest of the team.
If a King leaves the land for his home this off-season, the changing of the guard in LA should be able to convince his other half to sign those papers. Inked on the line that will keep him in Hollywood matrimony for what seems like an eternity.
Even if this old married couple doesn’t even like each other.
