The relationship between Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves and LeBron James has been full of memorable moments over two seasons.
Reaves immediately stood out to LeBron during the team’s minicamp before the 2021 season. James emphasized he knew right away that Reaves would fit in well with him.
And as Reaves emerged into the rotation, LeBron seemed to take him under his wing — a moment where James explained something to Reaves went viral during a Lakers game last season.
It wasn’t the first nor the last time a moment between the two spread throughout the internet. Even though Reaves and LeBron have developed a strong relationship, the former grew up a fan of Kobe Bryant, dedicated enough that he said he would have done anything to meet Bryant.
That fandom became evident when an old Facebook post from Reaves making fun of LeBron went viral in March. Fox Sports’ Melissa Rohlin revealed his reaction to the post gaining steam on the internet:
“I saw ‘SportsCenter’ posted it,” Reaves told FOX Sports. “I was just like, ‘S—.’”
Back in 2012, when Reaves was 13, he had posted a meme that read: “When I need some peace and quiet I set my phone to LeBron mode, no ring.” In the background was a photo of five-time champion Kobe Bryant shrugging. (LeBron James, of course, was months away from winning his first of four championships.)
In the world of social media, the post spread rapidly. Reaves decided to address it immediately instead of letting it linger in the locker room, and James got a good laugh out of it:
“I called Bron over and was like, ‘Look, I was s—-ing on you back in 2012. I was a Kobe fan,'” the 24-year-old said. “[James] just laughed it off.”
James even joked about Reaves’ Kobe fandom after a game against the Chicago Bulls in late March. Three nights earlier, Bulls guard Patrick Beverley hit LeBron with the “too small” gesture after hitting a layup over him to ice the game. In the next game, Reaves got revenge after he scored over Beverley then returned the favor with a “too small.”
LeBron joked he appreciated the move, even though Reaves was a Kobe fan growing up, and forgave him for the meme.
The off-the-court relationship between Reaves and James often leads to on-court success too. In 295 minutes on the court together these playoffs, lineups with the two of them are outscoring opponents by 8.6 points, the third-highest in lineups with over 200 minutes.
Now imagine if growing up, Reaves was a LeBron fan instead.
Austin Reaves feeling good physically after bounce-back Game 4
After a short cold stretch on offense, Reaves finally broke out with 21 points in the Lakers’ Game 4 victory on Monday. He had clutch baskets in the third quarter to keep L.A. in striking distance.
Reaves acknowledged the grind of playoffs is new to him, but said he is feeling good physically.
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