Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves made his Team USA debut on Monday night during a scrimmage in Las Vegas against Puerto Rico. Reaves finished with nine points, four rebounds and four assists in the blowout win as he was showered from cheers by the many Lakers fans in the crowd, but also got some love from teammate LeBron James on social media.
LeBron has long been one of Reaves’ biggest supporters and that has continued on as the Lakers guard gets his first taste of the international game. As Reaves got going in the first half, LeBron sent out a tweet praising his Lakers teammate:
A-R you so COLD man!!! ???? #TeamUSA??
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 8, 2023
Of course it didn’t take long for Reaves to get word of LeBron’s social media post and the Lakers guard was thankful, admitting that it feels good to be validated from someone of James’ stature while adding that he hopes to bring home the NBA Championship with LeBron this upcoming season, via NBA YouTube:
Yeah, that’s my guy. I’ve learned a lot from him in the past two years and you know it feels good when he kinda validates that you can actually play. It’s been a special two years and hopefully we can go win a championship this year.
This Team USA experience will undoubtedly allow Reaves to hit the ground running once the NBA season begins. Many players throughout the years have had career years following spending summer with Team USA and the Lakers would love for that to be the case with Reaves.
The opportunity to practice and work with some of the best young players in the league such as Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton and Brandon Ingram should only help Reaves grow. After signing his new deal, Reaves is expected to take on an even bigger role with the Lakers and he’ll be ready to go after this experience.
The ultimate goal remains winning a championship and Reaves reaching a higher level will help the Lakers potentially get to that point.
Steve Kerr describes Lakers’ Austin Reaves as a ‘connector’ for Team USA
Reaves’ 19 minutes off the bench were tied for the second-most of any reserve and it looks as if he will have an important role on Team USA. Head coach Steve Kerr certainly thinks highly of him and has gone out of his way to praise the Lakers guard.
Kerr described Reaves as a ‘connector,’ noting how the ball always seems to move to the right places when he’s in the game while adding that he fits in any lineup they put out on the court.
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