Austin Reaves and LeBron James have a special relationship. The two have combined to produce enough highlights and gifs to fill the NBA Twitter’s needs many times over. LeBron has spoken highly of Reaves ever since the guard went undrafted out of Oklahoma. Reaves has returned the favor as a player, but his old posts tell us that wasn’t always the case.
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Austin Reaves was a die-hard Kobe fan growing up. He would even take to Twitter to defend his favorite player and attack his competition. This means, in a hilarious twist of fate, Reaves was talking a whole lot of trash about his future teammate as a teenager.
However, the two have turned the page on past fandom battles. Reaves has credited LeBron with his development from an unwanted prospect to a potential all-star and high-level starter. It’s not just the ways James has helped his on-court play but also the joy he provides.
In his post-game conference, Reaves acknowledged he would tweet a lot against LeBron as a Kobe fan. Reaves claimed, “I basically was talking s**t on LeBron, wasn’t a huge LeBron fan.” In fact, one of the pictures even went viral in which Reaves was taking a shot at LeBron’s lack of rings.
But now, it’s been 12 years since that infamous but hilarious tweet, and Reaves pointed out how his relationship with his superstar teammate has developed over their tenure together.
“I owe him a lot for what he’s helped me accomplish…” said Reaves. “Just being around him every single day, the joy that he brings to this team, he’s never in a bad mood… Being able to play alongside him every single day helped me grow a lot.”
The feeling is mutual from James. While the two could not be at more opposite points of their careers, with Reaves being on the first year of his second contract and James in his 22nd year, the respect they share clearly goes both ways.
This is a distinct shift in Reaves’ feelings for LeBron. And while many would believe it’s only based on them playing for the team, there is clearly a mentor-mentee relationship that has developed between the two.
Even when Reaves was yet to break out as a star, LeBron supported the youngster enough times and posted AR15 on his IG stories often, hyping up the youngster’s game. This is just the kind of player and teammate LeBron is.
James thinks highly of Reaves, even if he’s seen the jokes from 2010
Of all players in NBA history, LeBron James may be the easiest ever to play alongside. While criticism will be common, most of it will be directed at James himself, and the pass-first superstar is sure to get others involved. As long as you play smart basketball or simply contribute in an effective way, James will find a way to get along.
In the case of Austin Reaves, he has done more than just get along. LeBron has constantly spoken about his belief in the young guard and his future. He even said he “loves being on the floor” with Reaves.
This love has clearly translated to on-court trust, a commodity that is worth all of the positive comments in the world. James and now teammate Luka Dončić have relied on Reaves in high-pressure circumstances again and again.
For the Lakers to make a deep playoff run, it will take all three of those stars and their belief in each other.
