Austin Reaves has been with the Lakers for two stellar seasons. While the team hasn’t had much to show for it apart from a Conference Finals appearance last season, the player himself has only gone from strength to strength so far. Especially during his rookie season in 2021-22, he had quite a bit to learn. Due to the mind LeBron James has, the undrafted man was often left confused by his advice, rather than enlightened, something that caused one of the most popular memes in the NBA. During his recent sit-down with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, he revealed the bewildering story behind his infamous expression.
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Despite their numerous trades, the Lakers felt compelled to keep Reaves over the offseason. So, during his free agency, the franchise offered him a four-year, $56,000,000 deal, the maximum they could offer. Fortunately for all parties, the contract was quickly agreed upon and signed.
Austin Reaves explains his famous meme moment with LeBron James in his rookie year
Austin Reaves has improved dramatically during his time in the NBA, with a large reason for that being the advice he received from the veterans on his team. However, given his lack of experience and need for repeated confirmation on plays being run, he was often left confused, which birthed the moment in the YouTube clip by Bleacher Report below.
After being asked about it by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, here is what he said on ‘Showtime Basketball‘.
“I ask a lot of questions. I was walking on the court, and I was like ‘I’m not doing anything (in the play)’. I’m on the left wing, basically chilling. (The coach) is like ‘yeah’… I asked (LeBron James) the same thing… He was like ‘Nah, you’re going here, here’, and I don’t know if he (LeBron James) was f**king with me or being serious, to be honest.”
From his explanation, it seems like Austin Reaves was as clueless as all the common folk looking on at the court. While that is a bit unfortunate for him, admittedly, it only makes the moment better. It is no wonder that the NBA community often comes together to laugh at it.
Austin Reaves reveals how James behaves with the team
How the star player of a team behaves with their teammates can have all kinds of effects on the success of the franchise. Fortunately, it appears that LeBron James is well aware of it.
During his sit down with Showtime Basketball, Reaves also talked about the kind of person the King is. Here is what he said.
“He acts like a damn kid. He[LeBron James] acts like he’s 18. I never really see him in a bad mood. Always joking, laughing, having a good time. For someone you put on a pedestal, because he’s done what he’s done, for him to just be so personable. You can talk to him about anything, you could have good conversation with him. You could joke around with him. The best thing about him is that he comes to work every day happy.”
