Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves doesn’t shy away from physicality and takes more than his fair share of hits during games. Reaves took one from Zach Edey in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 116-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday and after the game was asked where that toughness comes from.
“My brother used to beat the s*** out of me every day,” Reaves said. “Growing up as a little brother, you never win anything. It’s become second nature. My whole family never let me win anything. My parents would beat me in anything they played me in. My brother would beat me until I got old enough to be able to hold my own.
“But I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Reaves continued. “I feel if they would have catered to me, I wouldn’t be where I am now, so appreciate y’all. But yeah, I used to take a lot of L’s. My brother used to beat me up pretty good.”
Reaves’ family ensured he wasn’t coddled too much growing up and he is reaping the benefits of it today. The 26-year-old thanked them for acting in the manner that they did and his brother Spencer hilariously reacted to those comments on X.
“Glad to help.”
Just some wonderful brotherly love right there. You’d think the tables have turned in the Reaves household now, but the other brother would disagree with that notion. Spencer claimed he’d still whoop Austin’s a** if they played 1-on-1, but my money would certainly be on the latter if they faced off. The younger brother is just a bit too good now.
In the game against the Grizzlies, Reaves had 19 points, two rebounds, eight assists, and two steals to help the Lakers improve to 14-12 on the season. They struggled in the five games he missed due to a left pelvic contusion and would be hoping he can stay upright the rest of the way.
Anonymous NBA Scout Believes Lakers Can’t Win A Title With Austin Reaves As Their Third-Best Player
Reaves has been arguably the third-best player for the Lakers over the last 18 months or so and an anonymous NBA scout believes that is an issue. The scout stated the Lakers cannot win a title if Reaves is the third-best player on the team.
“If he’s [Austin Reaves] your third-best player, you’re not a championship contender, you’re just not,” said the scout, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “If you put Austin Reaves on the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Boston Celtics, he’s probably the fifth, maybe even sixth-best player, on those rosters.”
That might be a bit harsh but I do believe you need someone slightly better than Reaves to be your third-best player if you want to win a title. That’s not a shot at him, as he is a very good player, but teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics do have better options than him for that third spot.
Perhaps Reaves will prove us wrong, but only time will tell. For now, he would be focused on helping the Lakers make it two wins in a row when they take on the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Thursday at 10 PM ET.
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