- Vaidas Kariniauskas taunted Austin Reaves during the game between Lithuania and Team USA
- Kariniauskas revealed after the game that Austin’s brother Spencer had told him to talk trash to the Lakers star
- Kariniauskas and Reaves were teammates at Brose Bamberg
Vaidas Kariniauskas went viral during the game between the USA and Lithuania at the 2023 FIBA World Cup for taunting Austin Reaves. Some wondered why Kariniauskas was going after the Los Angeles Lakers star and it turns out it was because he was asked to do so by none other than Spencer Reaves, Austin’s brother.
“Nothing personal, just love for the game,” Kariniauskas said. “I played with his brother last year, so I talked with him before the game, he said ‘Give him a trash talk.’ So I gave him that.”
Spencer Reaves, brother of 🇺🇸 Austin Reaves, told 🇱🇹 Vaidas Kariniauskas to trash-talk his younger sibling 😂#FIBAWC #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/xvf2ekD8Qq
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) September 3, 2023
It’s absolutely hilarious that the elder Reaves told his former teammate to go at his brother. Kariniauskas fulfilled that request diligently as he tormented Austin for much of the game.
Spencer reacted to this video on X by congratulating Kariniauskas and he wants to see a rematch in the final.
“I need a rematch in the finals! Good win today for my boy V! USA gonna bounce back!”
I need a rematch in the finals! Good win today for my boy V! USA gonna bounce back! https://t.co/XSh6zh42gF
— Spencer Reaves (@SpencerReaves31) September 3, 2023
Reaves and Kariniauskas were teammates for one season at German club Brose Bamberg in 2022. The latter then joined Rapid Bucuresti and is now playing for M Basket Mazeikiai in the Lithuanian Basketball League.
You can check out what has now become a rather iconic clip of Kariniauskas taunting Reaves down below.
Kariniauskas Led The Way As Lithuania Stunned Team USA
While he was talking trash to Reaves, Kariniauskas also played a big role in Lithuania, beating Team USA 110-104.
The 25-year-old was the top scorer for the Lithuanians with 15 points off the bench and he also finished with 5 rebounds to go with 3 assists. It was a very balanced scoring effort in all, with seven players for Lithuania scoring in double digits.
They jumped to an early 31-12 lead after the first quarter of the game, and while the U.S. made it somewhat close later on, they ultimately fell short.
Austin Reaves Had His Worst Game In A While
Reaves had been one of the better players on Team USA and played a significant role in them getting off to a 4-0 start, but he was terrible here in their first defeat. The 25-year-old was repeatedly hunted on defense by Lithuania and offensively, he just never got going.
He finished the game with just seven points on 1-4 shooting from the field, and that’s simply not good enough. Reaves has to play better, and so does really the whole team, except for Anthony Edwards.
Edwards was the best player on the court with 35 points but didn’t get a whole lot of support from elsewhere. A repeat of that against Italy in the quarterfinal on Tuesday would probably result in the U.S. going home early.
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