Exclusive! Austin Reaves on leaving his mark at FIBA World Cup 2023: “One thing I have is I'm a super competitor”
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, the Los Angeles Lakers star spoke about the origins of his fabled grit, what he's learning from teammate LeBron James and how he compelled a bothered Coach Steve Kerr to include him in his USA Basketball vision.
Basketball
Of all the reasons Austin Reaves was the perfect fit for USA Basketball’s redemption quest at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, the tangible sense of grit the 25-year-old has is, perhaps, the most compelling.
Born and raised on the outskirts of Newark, Arkansas, a town with a population of 1100 people, where the stop signs haven’t yet been upgraded to stop lights, Reaves learned early that a sporting future beyond the 300-acre farm he imagined wouldn’t come easily.
“I never really dove into that life because I was playing sports,” Reaves tells Olympics.com about the early farm years with his distinct Arkansan drawl.
“But, you know, everybody that grows up there basically probably ends up a farmer.”
Baseball, and then basketball, were what drew Reaves away from such a world with his older brother Spencer primarily the catalyst for his interest.
“Basketball was what my brother was doing at that time and something we could play together. It was there when I really kind of fell in love with the game,” Reaves says, detailing how he got into hoops.
“For the longest time, I don’t know how he felt, but I hated him because we always fought. But something clicked when I was probably 13, 14,” Reaves continued with a smile.
Dragging Reaves out of the house to take him to the gym and then to the court to work on putting up extra shots, Spencer never relented in pushing his brother to progress. He could see in his sibling a raw potential that needed to work, and always reminded Reaves that it was going to be through toil he would get ahead.
“My brother always used to tell me that, you know, we were going to have to work two times as hard as everybody else just to get, you know, an opportunity to go play in college
“I only played one year of AAU [Amateur Athletic Union] because of baseball. I didn't think that I was going to go to Division One. I thought it was going to be a Division Two because I had only ended up having like three offers or three Division One offers.
“So, it was kind of limited, you know, where we're from. But, you know, from an early age, he made that kind of clear that it was going to be that way.”
Accepting that talent wasn’t going to be enough Reaves put in the hours and started to build the belief that he could be something special if he was ever given a chance.
It wasn’t the perfect start to an aspiring basketball player’s story; far from the upbringing some of his peers would get to enjoy but it is one, Reaves says, he wouldn’t change for the world.
“I wouldn't change any of that for anything because I feel like that's why I'm here,” he says.
“I’ll say there's probably a lot of guys that are more talented than me that aren't in the situation that I'm in because they didn't really have to work at a young age to get to where I'm at or he's [Spencer] at because he currently plays in Germany.
“But that was really, from probably my ninth, 10th-grade year, I knew that it was going to be a grind and it was something that I couldn't not fall in love with.
“I kind of fell in love with that grind trying to prove everybody wrong.”
Austin Reaves: The NBA Draft and the LA Lakers
After college, where Reaves split his time between Wichita State and then Oklahoma, the Arkansan decided to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft.
Going into the draft aged 22, Reaves admitted knowing the odds were not in his favour but still, he wanted to shoot his shot: “I felt like I had the talent to get drafted,” he says flashing the inner belief that had got him to the stage.
But as the night came and went Reaves was not drafted and his journey was over, or so thought the outside world.
During the build-up to the Draft, the Lakers arrived late with a two-way offer - a contract that allows a player to sign a deal with an NBA franchise and play for its team and G-League affiliate.
After agreeing with his team that the Lakers deal was his preferred option, Reaves opted to pass on an offer from the Detroit Pistons who had envisioned taking him as the 42nd overall pick.
Signing the deal with the Lakers was a moment of great significance to Reaves.
“I grew up a Laker fan. I was a huge Kobe [Bryant] fan,” he says matter-of-factly. The ‘Hillybilly Kobe’ nickname he acquired during college gesturing to the truth behind his words.
Austin Reaves and LeBron James side-by-side for the LA Lakers
Austin Reaves on LeBron James: "You can talk to him about anything"
Now about to enter his fourth year for the side Reaves is locked into life at the Lakers.
In July, the young star penned a four-year $56 million extension contract. The deal comes off the back of a season where Reaves proved his worth to the prestigious NBA franchise.
During the 2023 Western Conference Finals the rising star became the team's No 3 scorer, posting 16.9 points 4.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game in 36.2 minutes per game.
The fondness the American has developed for the club is clear as he speaks, but the glint in his eye shines extra brightly as he talks about playing alongside LeBron James – the superstar at the heart of the Lakers.
From the moment the Lakers deal appeared, Reaves sensed how unique an opportunity it would be to play with James and to study under him as one of the best who has ever played the game.
“The one thing I'll say is like how human he actually is,” Reaves says talking about James. “Like how personable he is. You can talk to him about anything. He'll, you know, take out a time of his day to explain stuff to you, teach you.
“He's been in the league, I think, just 21 years now. He's always been a professional. You don't see things bad about him in the media. He takes care of his business. He does the right things and gives back to the community. So, you know, just to be around him and kind of, you know, figure out things from him that I could do to, you know, live that lifestyle kind of and, you know, be a good person and, you know, like give back and all that. Like there's not anyone better to learn from.
“So, you know, I'm forever grateful for him because he's taught me a lot in these two years. And hopefully, we can play a couple more years together.”
Austin Reaves gets the nod from Steve Kerr
Reaves, whose ambition burns bright just like his idol and team-mate, will now get the chance to follow in another one of his footsteps when he steps out onto the court for USA Basketball at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The American, unlike some of those in the 12-man roster selected by head coach Steve Kerr, has no previous experience in the USA pathway but after his sensational playoff run against the Warriors, Kerr’s NBA team, the veteran coach knew Reaves had to be involved.
“We got the call from Grant Hill,” Reaves begins.
“My agents did, and they related it to me. And this was probably two, maybe two and a half weeks after we [Lakers] beat the Warriors in the playoffs. And I got a text message, I think two days after I committed, from coach Kerr and it was just like, ‘I finally built up the courage to text you. I’ve been pissed off at you this whole time for beating us!’
“I kindly told him you’ve won enough in the past 10 years. You know, it was a good series for us to win. But to be around a coach like that and all he’s done, especially coaching and playing is special.”
He’s not been in the USA jersey under Kerr for long, but it is obvious that, in Reaves, the US has a game-changer.
While it has been Anthony Edwards on top of the stats sheet leading the USA to victory in all of their tune-up games, Reaves has more than played his role acting as a point of difference and often injecting some much-needed fire when he steps on to the court.
In their last and hardest-fought win against Germany (99-91), Reaves came off the bench and scored 16 points as he, and Tyrese Haliburton, masterminded an 18-6 run in the third quarter to cut a 16-point deficit into single figures.
Austin Reaves: "Winning is literally all that matters"
All that is left now for Reaves and the team to do is recapture the title they lost while the rest of the world readies and hopes that they might trip and stumble.
For the buoyant basketball star, sure of what he is capable of, he bids them bring it on.
“One thing I have is I'm a super competitor. Anytime I play anything, honestly, I'm looking to win, even if I'm not the best at it. But I kind of have the mentality of winning is literally all that matters.
“And I'll go figure out anything to do during the game if we need, different aspects, every night. I'll go try to figure out what that is to do to give us a better opportunity to win."
Gold, redemption, proving everyone further wrong – Reaves is ready for what the World Cup will bring.
But something else, on the line and sitting in the back of his mind, is the Olympic quota USA could obtain in Manila should they finish as one of the top two teams from the Americas in the tournament.
Though that doesn’t guarantee Reaves himself a spot at Paris 2024 with USA National Organising Committee (NOC) determining the team that goes to the next Games, the Olympics and the Olympic experience are something the Arkansan has in mind for the future, not least with the Games coming to his new home in 2028.
“For sure,” Reaves says expressing his interest in one day making it to the Olympics.
“Any athlete that plays any sport that the Olympics provides would say the same thing. And then there's the Olympics in L.A., so to be a part of, you know, especially that one kind of in the town I play for and represent, that would be super cool.”