Guard Austin Reaves recently shared a personal anecdote from a game with the Lakers, when LeBron James shouted at him and his grandmother reacted protectively, worried about how tense the scene felt for her.
Reaves revealed this story -previously unknown- in The Young Man & The Three podcast.
We’ve had a couple instances of where, you know, we’ve went at each other… My grandma one day was so mad at him. She was like, ‘If he yells at you like that one more time…’ I was like, ‘Mama, it’s okay.’ Like your kids, my mother, your daughter has yelled at me way worse than that. So, it’s fun. It was fun.
The Lakers guard recalled.
Afterward, Reaves went deeper into what LeBron’s leadership has meant for him, describing how those tough exchanges actually pushed him to grow and improve as a professional.
That’s also a good thing about him. You can go back at him… I remember my rookie year, something happened and he was on my a** about something and you know, we have the iPad behind the bench. I walk over to the iPad and I’m like, ‘Hey, I know I didn’t f*** up, but can I see.’ I don’t even think I was anywhere in the wrong… I just tapped him on the shoulder [and] was like, ‘Hey, this is what happened,’ and he was ‘Oh, that’s my bad, my mistake.’ So, you can go back at him.
Austin Reaves aims to replicate his best year with the Lakers
During the 2024-25 campaign, Reaves delivered the strongest season of his professional career. With the new season about to tip off, he hopes to replicate those numbers and continue his upward trajectory with the Lakers.
Reaves joined the Lakers in 2021 as an undrafted player and steadily carved out a key role on the perimeter. Despite being surrounded by veterans with far greater résumés, he has never shied away. Instead, he embraced the challenge and established himself as a reliable contributor.
He averaged 20.2 points, 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 46 percent from the field across 73 appearances while logging 34.9 minutes on average. Those are impressive statistics for a player still proving himself in the league.
Heading into the new season, Reaves is once again expected to hold a prominent role in Los Angeles alongside Luka Doncic and LeBron James. At 27, he has maximized every opportunity to show he is a valuable asset for the franchise.
As the Lakers pursue another championship, Reaves is eager to keep contributing and deliver performances that can help propel the team toward its ultimate goal. His mix of resilience, confidence and proven production has positioned him as an important piece of the Lakers’ ongoing quest for a title.
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