Austin Reaves Calls Out LeBron James’ Golfing Skills While Providing Analysis On Bronny

Joseph Galizia | 30/09/2025
Jan 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) and forward LeBron James (23) talk on the court against the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena.

A lot of NBA players end up catching the golf bug once they try it out. The pace may be slower, but the competitive edge is still there, and it provides a platform for some players to thrive in a sport other than basketball. Austin Reaves is one of them, and he’s good enough to critique NBA GOAT LeBron James’ game, as he recently did.

Reaves isn’t just a golf regular but is widely considered the best NBA amateur golfer after Stephen Curry. The Los Angeles Lakers guard has gone from being undrafted to becoming an integral part of the team’s offense, and he’s just as deadly with a 56-iron in his hands.

The 27-year-old spoke about his love for golf during an interview with SportsNet Live. Reaves revealed that he recently played 18 holes with his teammate, Bronny James. He later shared that he sent a photo of the two to Bronny’s father, LeBron, adding exactly what kind of golfer The King is.

“I played with Bronny about a week ago now. We was on 18 and I sent Bron a picture of me and Bronny out there and I was like, ‘I got all my money on Bronny.’ He told me I was insane, obviously, but he’s got a good swing,” stated Reaves.

Talking about LeBron, Reaves stated, “It’s a work in progress,” which made the panel laugh. “He told me he got his first Birdie the other day. He said he was very VERY excited.”

It was funny to see Reaves’ playful jab at LeGOAT, and even funnier that he used Bronny as a pawn to do it. The King will most likely get him back at practice now that the preseason is less than a week away. Still, it’ll be tough for the future Hall of Famer to match his son’s natural talent, as Bronny already looks elite.

The bigger point is that golf is becoming an obsession for a lot of pro-athletes. LeBron himself confirmed this during his solo interview during Lakers media day.

“The bug is real. I didn’t know anything about it. People said if you ever get into the game and the bug grabs you, it’s over with,” stated the four-time NBA Champion.

“I love everything about it,” LeBron added before ranting about how beautiful courses are and how he can unplug from the craziness that is his life.

Honestly, it feels like every NBA guy eventually gets hooked on golf, and it’s understandable why. You can compete, talk trash, and still chill at the same time. It’s basically made for them.

Watching Reaves clown LeBron about his swing just proves the bug has a tight grip on the Lakers locker room already. At this rate, half the league’s gonna be trying to beat Steph on the course before they beat him on the court.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Austin Reaves Bronny James lebronjames

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

Don’t miss these