With Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves participating in the FIBA World Cup for Team USA, he’s had to familiarize himself with a new system and group of guys. That is the challenge for players when coming together for the World Cup or Olympics, learning how to play with one another and building that chemistry quickly.
So far, so good for USA as they finished an undefeated 5-0 in the USA Basketball Showcase. With the thrilling comeback win against Germany on Sunday, the team seems to be fond of each other and playing for one another. Reaves has seemed to be making good first impressions with head coach Steve Kerr, Mikal Bridges, Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton all giving him recent praise.
It seems that the USA players are getting a feel of Reaves as a person and his personality with center Walker Kessler sharing his thoughts on the Arkansas native, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
“He’ll definitely talk some trash and stuff like that,” Team USA teammate and Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler said. “Probably a little quieter to other people that don’t really know him well, but when you start to get to know him, he opens up a little more. He’s a very, very funny guy. Very dry sense of humor.”
It is entertaining to hear what the players share about Reaves since they see him daily and Lakers fans have not seen many outbursts or emotional moments from the guard. Obviously, there is the ‘I’m HIM!’ moment in Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies, Game 6 half-court buzzer beater against the Golden State Warriors and the scuffle with Dallas Mavericks wing Josh Green in the regular season. However, seeing those moments made fans appreciate Reaves more and loved to see his emotions.
Now that the 6’5″ guard has secured a contract with the Lakers after a successful first postseason run, playing with Team USA has opened him up, becoming more connected with his new teammates. There is still work to be done with the World Cup starting on Aug. 26, but it is good to hear that Reaves is enjoying himself and relishing his time representing the country.
Reaves believes an All-Star selection is possible
Now that Reaves finished his phenomenal sophomore season, there are now expectations for what he can be down the line. Some Lakers fans are debating if he’ll have an All-Star selection at some point in his career and it seems Reaves believes that could be in the cards for him.
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