Austin Reaves' persistence paid off with an unexpected role for the Lakers / Austin Reaves's Persistence Pays Off With Unexpected Lakers Role
Published: December 15, 2021 US time
Publisher: the Ringer
Article author: Mirlin Fidel
Article translated by de Gaulle
Entering the video room of the team's training hall, Austin Reeves sat in the back row where he was most accustomed to sitting. On this day, the team had to collectively watch a video of the previous game against the Thunder, and head coach Frank Vogel found a clip and froze the picture, showing Reeves defending Thunder guard Giljes Alexander, and the two were attacking and defending on the right wing of the court.
"Should we put on the bag clip?" What do you guys think? Vogel asked questions to all the players in the studio. To interpret Vogel's question from another angle, he is asking the Lakers players whether Reeves needs help, or whether he can handle this defensive situation alone.
According to Reeves, the first Lakers player to answer Vogel's question was LeBron James, who was very determined, believing that Reeves alone could defend Alexander. James's answer was echoed by a number of Lakers players, "No need to pack, he can defend," many Lakers players said. Malik Munch, Reeves' best friend in the team, also expressed his attitude: "We all said at the time: 'Absolutely not need [the bag clip]. It's clear to all of us that he (Reeves) is a fighter and he will never let anyone slip past him. ’”
The team's video lesson took place at the end of October, when Reeves had only played four games for the Lakers. And he has already occupied a place in the Lakers with his strong defense and good outside projection ability. As a rookie who came out of the University of Oklahoma, Reeves found his place with the Lakers and earned meaningful playing time.
Just after his teammates collectively praised his defensive prowess, James, who was sitting in front of Reeves, suddenly turned around. Reeves remembers that scene to this day, and he remembers James staring into his eyes and then slowly saying, "You've won a badge." ”
Reeves smiled when he heard James's words. He knew james was referring to the NBA 2K series term, and in the game, every time a player's ability reaches a certain height, he will unlock a badge. Hearing the big brother in the team make such an evaluation of himself, Reeves felt a sense of strength, trust and respect.
Of course, all of this is not obtained by Reeves out of thin air, but he relies on real efforts and performance. The 1.96-meter-tall, 89.4-kilogram guard has played in 17 games this season and averaged 19.7 minutes per game in a team full of veterans and stars like the Lakers.
On December 15, local time, Reeves ushered in his most dazzling moment in the NBA. With 0.9 seconds left in overtime, he took a pass from Westbrook and threw a three-pointer that set the Lakers' victory. On the side of James, Davis, and Westbrook, he became the most shining star.
"More than once, my teammates on the court were 4 Hall of Fame-level players," Reeves said, "and then the fifth man on the team was me, a guy from an unsung town in Arkansas in the middle of the United States." ”
Whenever arkansas was mentioned, whenever he mentioned the hometown he called the "nameless town," Reeves always smiled. He speaks with a Southern American accent, always making him feel polite and warm, and occasionally a little shy. However, once he changed into his jersey and stood on the court, he would change into a different face. "To be honest with you, my mentality has always been: kill everyone who questions me. I can prove to you that I got here by my strength. ”
Reeves's hometown still has a name, a small city called Newark, with a population of less than 1,200 people. Most of the people here are engaged in agricultural production, as does the Reeves family, which has a large farmland and hundreds of cattle, all of which make up his childhood memories. Although I've always had a basketball dream, Reeves felt that most of the time it was just a dream, "[playing the NBA] is exactly what I want to achieve, but I don't know if that's possible," Reeves said.
However, it is also this kind of growing environment that shapes Reeves's character and his style of playing. "He's won everything he has today on his own," said Lakers veteran Rondo, "and throughout his career, nothing has fallen from the sky." He has a blue-collar mentality, and at the beginning of his career, he has already proved that a lot of people look at him badly. ”
For the Lakers this season, although there are three star players in the team, the team's pinch has always been problematic. Coupled with the departure of many defensive elites, this made the team fluctuate in the opening season. Against this backdrop, Reeves, who saw defense as his own responsibility, was given the opportunity that belonged to him. And his style on the court also reminds many people of Caruso, who left this summer. Lakers head coach Phil Handy called Reeves the "new caruso" of the Lakers, a "player with his own elements of victory." ”
But even though he has gained a foothold in the Lakers and has been unanimously recognized by the whole team, Reeves still maintains many old habits and does not want to change. Many times, when Reeves enters the team's training gym, he will wear a black hoodie with the word "Jaxxon" on the chest and purple training shorts for the Lakers. Many people asked him where he bought the hoodie, and Reeves would shrug his shoulders and reply, "Someone sent it to me, so I put it on." ”
In August, after the Lakers gave Reeves a two-way contract, he insisted on staying in a hotel near the team's training gym, and even by September, his contract had turned more than 1 million yuan in annual salary into a guaranteed amount, and Reeves still did not go out to rent a house. "I don't want to spend $5,000 a month to rent an apartment, which is crazy in my opinion," Reeves said, "in my hometown, renting is $500 a month, and if you spend $1,000 you can rent a very good apartment." But here, look at that price, oh my goodness! ”
As the Lakers turned Reeves' two-way contract into a two-year formal contract, Reeves could finally afford the rent in Los Angeles. But even if he moved into an apartment of his own, he wasn't going to spend much money on the new home. Usually, Reeves likes to stay at home, and although there are several good coffee shops and juice bars next to the apartment, he rarely visits. Sometimes the agent and the partner of the brokerage company would come to him for dinner, and he would just ask the agent to pack him a few pancakes from the restaurant to eat.
Although he was very casual in life, Reeves was never ambiguous about basketball. In every training session, he was extra serious. Because he knows that in such a team full of veterans and superstars, as long as you stand with them, you can benefit a lot.
He would observe how each teammate moved and prepared for the game. And in the process of the competition, the opportunity to learn is also everywhere. It was a game against the Rockets, and Reeves was there to play a block with James. After covering for James, Reeves cut toward the basket, but because he was running so fast, he didn't notice when James had passed the ball over. As a result, he did not receive a pass and the ball went straight out of bounds.
At the time, Reeves' first thought was: "Broken, I screwed up." Sure enough, during the subsequent timeout, James took reeves to his aid, but his words surprised Reeves: "He said to me: 'I'll wait for you to get to the basket and pass the ball immediately.'" Don't take your eyes off me while I'm holding the ball in my hand, because I'll pass the ball to you at any moment. ’”
There was also a preseason match against the Kings, and Reeves was also impressed. He was only 1-of-8 from outside the three-point line in that game, and the first thing Westbrook said to him when he returned to the locker room was: "Good shot." Reeves was surprised and he said, "What are you talking about?" I'm 1 of 8. Wei Shao replied, "No, no, no, I'm just very glad you've been sticking with it." ”
Although he was still groping and adapting on the offensive end, when it came to the defensive end, Reeves felt as if he had reached his own territory. Whether it's defending James and Howard in training, or going to the court to tear up the core of the opponent's outside line, Reeves has no fear. And these skills that seem to be like his instincts are actually the skills he has continuously cultivated from childhood to adulthood.
Although Reeves lives in a small town, his parents were also former basketball players at Arkansas State University. His dad, Brian, worked as a point guard in college and is still No. 4 on the team's all-time assists list, while mom Nicole is a brilliant scorer and is a well-known player in the Arkansas league.
Reeves also has an older brother named Spencer, who is currently playing at Leverkusen in Germany. The brothers have not only been good playmates since childhood, but also teammates and opponents who have grown up together on the road of basketball. When he was a child, his brother often used his tall body to hit Reeves in a low position, and he could not stop his brother from attacking Little Reeves, and sometimes he would cry, but after wiping away his tears, he would return to the court and fight against his brother. To this day, Reeves still maintains this momentum and has never relaxed.
In his sophomore year of high school, Reeves suffered a serious injury to his shoulder, and he underwent three surgeries to repair his torn shoulder and labia. Coupled with the case of shoulder joints and dislocations, he could only wear a thick black shoulder pad for a long time. "I think a lot of people probably don't understand where this kid's innate competitiveness comes from," Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy said, "but he's such a gritty kid." ”
Although the spirit is very strong, basketball still depends on the strength on the field. In addition, Reeves himself came from a small place, and the high school he attended did not produce any big players, so after graduating from high school, naturally there were not too many colleges to throw an olive branch at him. Seeing that his brother Spencer had only accepted an admission to an NCAA second-tier league school, Reeves thought that he might only be able to enter the second-tier league.
However, with the encouragement of the high school coach, Reeves began to shine on the high school field. In a game against that year's state champion team, Reeves' team fought three overtime games against their opponents, and he alone scored 73 points. Later, he scored 50 points in 2 games, such a talent show, the high school coach was also stunned, so he began to contact the university coaches and recommend Reeves to them.
In this way, Wichita State University in Kansas, offered Reeves a scholarship and asked him to join. But in his first year of college, Reeves again dislocated his right shoulder and had to undergo surgery. After a long recovery process, he found himself reduced to a marginal figure on the team. Eager to prove himself on a higher platform, he chose to transfer to the University of Oklahoma. Reeves, who got more opportunities, played in 25 games in the 2020-21 season, averaging 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, all of which are the peak of his college career. In the second round of the national championship, Reeves scored 27 points.
All of this past has made him firm in his determination to participate in the NBA draft. He believes in his own strength, even as an older newcomer, he believes he can get a chance. Prior to the draft, he tried out for 17 teams, and the Lakers expressed a keen interest in him. So even though the Pistons called him on draft night to offer to pick him with the No. 42 pick, Reeves asked his agent to turn him down.
"Everybody wants to be chosen," Reeves said, "and if I tell you I don't want to be chosen, I'm definitely lying." It's just that hearing my name being called out on draft night doesn't matter if I find a good environment for my own development. ”
From the current situation, Reeves has made the right choice, and he seems to have found an environment suitable for his own development. Malik Munch is also an Arkansas native of the Lakers today, less than 100 miles from Reeves' home, and the two fellows have in common in many ways. "The vast majority of people don't know where Arkansas is, and they don't know there are so many basketball players out there," Munch said.
And as Reeves hit that kill, he let more people know him, and he got to know this basketball player from Arkansas.