No one expected that the fate of the Lakers today would be in the hands of a lost draft. With Austin Reeves' three-point kill, the Lakers went to the Lone Ranger 107-104 overtime. In order to join the Lakers, Reeves, who was a Kobe fan, was willing to become a lost draft, and today he can bring a victory to the team he wants, and Reeves is the happiest person.
The clock was set to early August this year, when the Lakers' lineup still needed to be improved. However, despite James Ennis's self-recommendation, the Lakers eventually left the opportunity to the unknown Reeves.
There's a moving story between Reeves, nicknamed "Hillbilly Kobe" by his teammates, and the Lakers. It is rumored that in order to join the idol's team, Reeves turned a deaf ear to the promise that other teams would select him in the second round, willing to become a loser, and finally signed the Lakers on a two-way contract as he wished, and "turned regular" at the end of September. There are thousands of Kobe fans, but not many can do it so thoroughly. The signing of the Lakers a month ago also laid the groundwork for today's victory.
Born on May 29, 1998 in Newark, Arkansas, Reeves is 1.96 meters tall and weighs 89 kilograms, ranking second. In his early years, Reeves attended Cedar Ridge High School in his hometown, where he won two Class 2A state championships for the team in his first two seasons. In a three-overtime battle against Forest City High School, Reeves scored an astonishing 73 points.
In his senior season, Reeves averaged 32.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, led the team to another Class 3A state championship, and was elected MVP of the tournament with a heroic performance of 43.3 points per game.
In January 2016, After turning down invitations from the University of South Dakota and Arkansas, Reeves pledged to join Wichita, Kansas.
However, Reeves, who had been a big hit in the high school league, soon encountered a roadblock after joining the NCAA: injuries. Reeves suffered from a shoulder injury from his junior year of high school and soon underwent surgery on his left shoulder, which left him on the bench in his freshman year and his scoring average plummeted to 4.1 points per game. At the end of the season, Reeves had to lie on the operating table again and undergo surgery on his right shoulder. After some tossing and turning, Reeves averaged 8.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in his sophomore season. Despite some progress, it is still not convincing enough.
Despite the onslaught of injuries, Reeves also left his masterpiece at the Wichita State University. On January 28, 2018, against Tulsa University, Reeves scored a sophomore season-high 23 points in a single game and led the team to a 90-71 victory. In the half of the field, Reeves hit 7 three-pointers, setting a record in school history.
In order not to make his basketball path narrower, Reeves immediately decided to transfer to the University of Oklahoma in his junior season. As it turned out, Reeves' adventure was worth it. In his first season at the University of Oklahoma, Reeves averaged 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and three assists per game, and the fly in the ointment was that after the ball power increased, his shooting percentage declined.
On March 7, 2020, Reeves played the NCAA career masterpiece. In the game against Christ College Texas, he exploded with 41 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, leading the team to a 19-point reversal and hitting a 0.5-second shot before the final game.
In his second season at the University of Oklahoma, Reeves greatly improved his performance, averaging 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, and was selected for the best team in the Big 12 Division. But with an overall shooting percentage of 44.3%, his three-point shooting rate is still only in his early 30s (30.5%). This undoubtedly foreshadows Reeves's future basketball path: he can't digest a lot of ball rights, which means he won't be the team's top scorer; but as a supporting role on the offensive end, Reeves with a big heart is something to look forward to.
It was at the University of Oklahoma that Reeves earned the nickname "Country Kobe," which is rumored to have come from a teaching assistant on the varsity team. Reeves himself was quite pleased with the nickname. "I'm 50 percent of the 'country' and 'Kobe,'" Reeves once said, "I'm from the backcountry of Arkansas and grew up on a farm, and the nickname fits me." ”
Then Reeves announced his participation in the 2021 NBA Draft, which happened at the beginning of this article. In fact, before today, Lakers fans have seen Reeves's big heart. In this summer's league finale, the Lakers narrowly beat the Suns with Reeves' 2.5-second layup before the final game. At that time, some people exclaimed: Pelinka's eyes are poisonous enough, and the Lakers have picked up the treasure!
Back in the game, Reeves' defense against Jaylen Brunson was also remarkable before completing the kill. Lakers coach Vogel praised Reeves in front of his face after the game as a player with both attack and defense, height and foot, and thanked the Lakers executives for this, thanking them for sending such a piece of jade to their hands. The Lakers' big three all gave Reeves flowers and applause, who got the ball for the game and was doused in the locker room by his teammates.
The movie "Forrest Gump" once had a classic line: "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get." To paraphrase a popular Phrase on the Internet today, "Tomorrow and the unexpected, never know which one comes first." And for Reeves, there were no surprises in his dictionary. Whether it was the decision to transfer that year, or the decision to "not go to the Lakers" during the draft, or the 2 kills in the purple and gold battle robe, Reeves only wanted to firmly grasp tomorrow in his own hands. (Supine Braces/Hairy)