11 Weeks After Bold ‘Stephen Curry Claim,’ Austin Reaves Reiterates Belief in Golf Skill; Mocks Charles Barkley’s Swing

Outside the basketball court, many NBA players tend to develop a love for golf, following in the footsteps of Michael Jordan. While Stephen Curry might be the best golfer in the league in terms of resume, Lakers star Austin Reaves is here to challenge the 4x NBA champion’s crown in golf. In fact, Reaves has hailed himself to be the best golfer in the league ahead of Steph Curry.

Now that the Lakers have won the In-Season Tournament, every player in the team has bagged a whopping $500,000 cash prize, including Austin Reaves. While others in the team may have elaborate plans to splurge this cash, Reaves wants to use this money to purchase a Riviera membership.

In a recent appearance on the Run It Back podcast, the Lakers star revealed his golfing plans, “Yeah! I mean, I don’t really like to spend my money, I don’t really have it, I didn’t have any before now. But yeah, I’ve kind of realized that this is just a little extra.”

Furthermore, when co-host Chandler Parsons asked Reaves if he was the best golfer in the league over Stephen Curry, the Lakers shooting guard modestly co-signed on the claim. Not trying to offend other NBA golfers, Reaves replied, “I haven’t played with Steph nor anybody else in the NBA. I don’t really know anybody personally. But for me, I believe so.” 

Reaves’ claim of being the best golfer in the league goes back to his statement in Zach Lowe’s podcast 11 weeks back. During the show, Reaves placed himself before Stephen Curry, who made a walk-off eagle to win the American Century Championship in July. When Lowe asked Reaves to name the best golfer in the NBA community, the shooting guard assertively replied, “Me.” 

We can conclude that Reaves is quite decent as a golfer, with an estimated handicap of around 2. Perhaps, if there ever was a golf showdown between him and Curry, we can expect a brilliant contest between the two Western Conference stars.

Charles Barkley challenged Austin Reaves to a golf contest

When talking about the NBA and golf, the conversation always seems incomplete without the mention of Charles Barkley. Barkley had recently challenged Reaves on a game of golf, and it seems like the young star is all up for this challenge. Chuck is even willing to come to Oklahoma, knowing how crowded Los Angeles courses are.

“Austin Reaves, I want all the smoke. I will come to Oklahoma, I will come anywhere, I will come to LA, but it’s too crowded in LA. I wanna come to Oklahoma this summer, I wanna play you. You are a scratch golfer. Give me 4 and 4, and it is on!” said Barkley, who seemed intent on getting a response from the LA guard.

Charles Barkley challenges Austin Reaves to a golf match next summer in Oklahoma pic.twitter.com/e1i28DlBtu

— Oh no he didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) December 8, 2023

Well, it seems like Reaves is very much up for this challenge, as we can notice from his response to Sir Charles. Mocking Chuck’s swing in the podcast, Reaves hilariously claimed his odds for this challenge are pretty good, saying, “I haven’t seen him [Barkley] swing in a couple of years. So, the last time I remember, he had that horrible hitch in it. So, I still like my odds regardless.”