[Star] Austin Reeves vs Lone Ranger Highlights
LeBron James waited in the locker room with the ball in his hand, and Jordan Jr. hid with a bucket of ice water.
When Austin Reeves walked into the locker room, Jordan Jr. spilled a bucket of ice water on his head, James handed the ball to Reeves for collection, and staged a "head-touching kill" to encourage his teammates, and the Lakers locker room was full of laughter.
Ten minutes before this scene happened, Reeves had just completed a big heart three-point shootout in Dallas, shocking the world. The Lakers have James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis on the court, but it is a nobody who makes $930,000 a year to win.
The locker room frantically watered to celebrate after the Lakers killed
Reeves's name quickly made it onto Twitter's hot search list, but many people are still asking, who is this little-known white defender?
You may know that he gave himself the nickname of "Country Kobe" on media day this season, but you may not know how much Reeves has experienced along the way from losing the election to signing a two-way contract to turning the contract regular and becoming the main rotation member of the Lakers.
Reeves was born in Newark, Arkansas, a small town with a population of less than 1,200 people, and the Rivers family made a living as farmers. As Rivers rides his quad around his farm, he sees only hundreds of cows and endless rice paddies.
At that time, Reeves already had an NBA dream in his heart, but he didn't know if he could get out of the farm. "All you can do is dream, and going into the NBA is what I aspire to do, but I don't know if that's possible," Rivers said. ”
Like many later NBA stars, Reeves didn't like basketball that much at first, he preferred to play baseball, and before seventh grade, he was a very talented shortstop and batsman. After seventh grade, Reeves fell in love with basketball, but because he lived in the backcountry of Newark and reeled on the fact that Reeves was white, he not only did not receive attention, but he was often despised. When Reeves played AAU, he would often hear opponents say, "I'm here to defend against this white boy." ”
"Most people don't know where Arkansas is, and most people don't know that Arkansas has basketball players," said Munch, who played against Reeves in the ninth grade and now plays for the Lakers.
But Reeves did not succumb to fate, nor was he knocked down by those contemptuous eyes. In order to get the attention of the NCAA first-tier league teams, Reeves began to perform crazy to prove himself. Facing 5A-level forcing Forrest City, Reeves scored 73 points in a three-overtime battle. Rivers then scored a 50+ high score in two games.
Reeves' performance finally attracted attention, and the University of Huiqita eventually awarded him a scholarship. Reeves struggled to overcome the difficulties to land in the NCAA First Division, but fate once again gave him a problem, and a shoulder injury entangled Reeves.
In the 2016-17 season, Reeves' freshman year, he had to undergo surgery for a dislocation of his right shoulder, and after a long recovery period he finally came back and became a reliable role player. At Whitchta State, Reeves never averaged in double figures per game, and to prove he could play higher levels, Reeves transferred to the University of Oklahoma. In the 2020-21 season, Reeves averaged 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game in his final season. In the second round of the NCAA Championship, Rivers scored 27 points, but unfortunately the University of Oklahoma lost to the powerful Gonzaga.
After his college career, Reeves began preparing for landing in the NBA, where he took part in trials scheduled by as many as 17 teams, including the Lakers. Originally, the Pistons had informed Reeves' agent that they would use the 42nd sign to select Reeves and then sign a two-way contract with him. But Reeves' agency declined the Pistons, telling them that unless the Pistons came up with a guarantee contract, they would prefer to sign a team that would benefit Reeves after the draft.
Reeves was willing to lose the election in order to join the Lakers. In his opinion, it is far better to hear his name called at the draft than to play in a team that is conducive to his future development. In this way, Reeves signed the Lakers on a two-way contract and turned regular at the end of September, earning a standard contract.
At the beginning, no one could have imagined that Reeves could enter the Lakers rotation at the beginning of the season, and the Lakers' injury wave gave Reeves a chance, and he also seized the opportunity. Before the hamstring strain, he had sat in the rotation and became the main substitute for averaging 20+ minutes per game. In the eyes of the Lakers, Reeves is equivalent to Caruso's stand-in, and they are ready to train Reeves to become a new generation of Caruso.
"He's like Caruso, the kind of player who has the gene to win," Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy said, "a lot of people look down on him, but he's not afraid to fight anybody, he's a very competitive player, and I love his fearless spirit." ”
Today, Reeves has gained a foothold in the Lakers with his tenacious defense at the expense of physical strength, accurate three-pointers and big hearts, and super high basketball IQ. Several of the team's bigwigs have fully recognized him, and James once said at a video analysis meeting that when Reeves defends against the opponent's arrow figure, others don't need to go up and help defend. Even Westbrook and Rondo have praised Reeves' big heart and toughness.
With so many future Hall of Fame-level stars praised, Reeves did not float, he knew that with so many great stars on the same team is not for him to chase the stars, play their role around them, and constantly consolidate their positions is his task.
Reeves says the words his grandmother told him as a child always haunt him:
"Fight with all your might, have a brain, and then be your true self."