Austin Reaves has been teammates with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers for four seasons now, but he doesn’t consider him to be the greatest ever. Reaves was asked who the real GOAT is during his Asia tour, and he went with Kobe Bryant.
“I’mma say Kobe,” Reaves said. “… I’m a huge Kobe fan.”
Reaves grew up a Lakers fan, and his love for Bryant is well-documented. Still, the 27-year-old had previously declared that James is the greatest player in NBA history back in 2023. He looks to have switched his pick now.
Bryant won five titles, two Finals MVPs, one MVP, and two scoring titles in his 20 seasons with the Lakers. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in NBA history, but his ranking on the all-time list is subject to much debate.
Bleacher Report had Bryant as the 11th greatest player of all time, and the media tends to rank him in that range. Former players have him much higher, though, with Dwyane Wade being of the belief that he is in the top three.
While Wade didn’t share who else would be in his top three, you’d imagine it’s James and Michael Jordan. The GOAT debate nowadays generally involves just the two of them.
James has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title. Jordan, meanwhile, won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, one DPOY, and 10 scoring titles. Both of their resumes are viewed as better than Bryant’s, but that won’t stop the likes of Reaves from picking him as the GOAT.
Reaves’ love for Bryant growing up could have potentially landed him in a bit of trouble, though. He had posted memes in which he was throwing shade at James in 2012, and they resurfaced a couple of years ago. Reaves revealed on The Old Man and The Three podcast that he told James about it immediately, and his teammate didn’t take issue with it.
“We’re in New Orleans,” Reaves said. “I pull up my phone right after the game, and it’s first thing I see SportsCenter, and it’s a picture of Kobe like this. And it’s like ‘When I need some rest, I put my phone to LeBron mode, no rings.’ I was like s***. Like, there’s one of two things I can do.
“I can shut up and hope he don’t see it, or I can call him over here and be like, ‘Look, man,’ and I did,” Reaves continued. “I was like, ‘Bron, come here.’ He was like, ‘What’s up?’ He walks over. I was like, ‘I was a Kobe fan back in the day.’ I was like, ‘I was s****ing on you back in 2012.’ He just busted out laughing. He was like, I don’t care about this.”
James brushed it off and rightfully so, as Reaves was just a kid back then. These two now have a great relationship as well and have had a fair bit of success together on the court.
Reaves’ incredible rise from an undrafted free agent to a borderline star has him on course for a big payday in 2026. A league executive believes he’ll get a deal worth over $30 million a year.
While Reaves, who averaged 20.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2024-25, appears set to stay with the Lakers, James might be on his way out. This 2025-26 season might be their last chance to win a title together, and it will be interesting to see how the Lakers fare in the campaign.
