LeBron James heaps praise on breakout Lakers star Austin Reaves… after Reaves yells ‘I’M HIM’

Following his surprising performance in the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Austin Reaves received some high praise from LeBron James.

Reaves scored 24 points in the win to lead the Lakers’ starting lineup, and the team’s biggest star saved some kind words for the youngster in his post-game press conference.

‘It’s not surprising to me. I knew from the first practice that we had when we grabbed him that he wasn’t going to be a two-way player for long,’ James said after the game.

‘I know the type of players that fit with my game. I knew Austin would be that.’ 

After playing his final two seasons in college for the University of Oklahoma, Reaves originally joined the Lakers after going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft before joining the Lakers on a two-way contract that same August.

Reaves surprisingly led the Lakers starters with 24 points in the victory over the Grizzlies

He then signed a standard NBA contract with the team on September 27th, before making his debut on October 22nd that year.

This season he averaged only 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists despite averaging almost 30 minutes a night in 64 games.

Rui Hachimura also had a surprising career-best playoff scoring performance with 29 points, including 21 in the second half, as the Lakers stepped up.

Reaves himself, meanwhile, revealed after the game that he enjoyed stepping up in the biggest moment of his career so far.

‘You dream about being on a stage like this,’ he said. ‘And I got hot late and I had fun.’