• Lakers GM and former Kobe Bryant agent Rob Pelinka has made a big statement about Austin Reaves
• Pelinka said Reaves has the ‘Mamba Gene’ while talking about his growth
• According to Pelinka, the mamba gene exists in players who are great teammates, focused on winning, and hellaciously competitive
Austin Reaves had a big summer this offseason. His development from undrafted to core rotation piece in just two seasons doesn’t surprise GM Rob Pelinka, who said Reaves’s success was inevitable because he has the ‘Mamba Gene’.
“He uniquely has that ‘Mamba Gene’, where it is all about the work, it’s about playing competitively on every play, it’s about being a great teammate, not caring about personal accolades but the team winning. He exemplifies that. His growth with Team USA, we’re proud of him but not surprised. He’s got tremendous respect from other coaches and players around the league. Everybody praises him and he doesn’t let it get to his head. He’s focused on one thing only and that’s to bring another championship to this organization, we’ll lean into that type of character.”
Rob Pelinka says Austin Reaves has the 𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐚 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞 🧬pic.twitter.com/xqRw78BmX4
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) September 28, 2023
Reaves took a while to get going last season, emerging as the Lakers primary guard scorer after Russell Westbrook had been traded away. He averaged 18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists over the Lakers’ last 20 regular season games and ended the playoffs averaging 21.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in the Lakers’ sweep loss to the Nuggets.
He received a four-year, $56 million contract this summer and is expected to continue developing into a franchise cornerstone for the post-LeBron James era.
Austin Reaves Knows LeBron James Trusts Him
To have success on the Lakers, you need to get along with LeBron James. James is the undisputed leader of the team and will often be consulted on any major roster decision. James and Reaves have a great relationship, but the on-court trust took a while for trust to build. Reaves revealed the exact moment he knew that James finally trusted him after nearly two seasons together.
“The one that stood out to me… in the playoffs, Game 1 against Memphis. When I had a really good fourth quarter… I was on the left side, and I just meant to run the floor… me going to running the floor, and I hear LeBron yell ‘AR, come back’, and he just tosses me the ball… come down hit the three… from that point forward, I could tell the trust level was even more than what I knew it was at that point.”
Reaves’s combination of ball-handling and scoring ability is ideal for what James is trying to achieve. It allows the legend to play off-ball and conserve energy while knowing he has a genuine guard offensive option, something he hasn’t really had in his stint with the Lakers.
Austin Reaves Would’ve Considered Leaving The Lakers For The Spurs
Reaves had a pretty public offseason where there were concerns that the Lakers would be able to retain him. While the Lakers could match any contract, was there any team that could overpay Reaves to get him to ditch the purple and gold? Well, there was one team, and that was the San Antonio Spurs. Reaves was intrigued by the prospect of teaming up with Wembanyama, but the Spurs never ended up offering a contract.
”You know you hear things, and obviously with (Victor) Wembanyama, like, you know so much upside with him, you know, your mind kind of just wonders into that basketball world what that would be like.”
The Lakers were prepared to match any offer for Reaves, so he probably would never have gotten a chance to play for San Antonio. He did miss out on over $50 million due to no other team offering him a max, but it seems the Lakers really value him and want to keep him on the franchise for the long term.
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