Austin Reaves destroys rumors about Russell Westbrook being bad for Lakers locker room: ‘He’s the best teammate I’ve ever had’

Ever since Russell Westbrook fled the Lakers to their city rivals, a lot of speculation surrounded the Los Angeles camps suggesting that the Clippers guard contributed to an unhealthy purple and gold locker room. Austin Reaves was recently outspoken about these rumors and cleared the smoke around his former teammate. 

The Lakers guard went on the “All the Smoke” podcast last week and told former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that Westbrook was a delight to have around.

Austin Reaves with high praise for Russell Westbrook 🙌(via Showtime Basketball) pic.twitter.com/FHwxn9us21

— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) July 21, 2023

“Yeah, he’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” he said. “As a person, you know, you can’t get much better. I got COVID like December of my rookie year in Minnesota. I was stuck in Minnesota for like seven days. So it was rough. But, you know, he reached out like three or four times, asked me if I needed anything, offered to send me stuff, whatever I needed. So as a person, you know, you couldn’t get better.

“And same as a teammate. Like he was always empowering everybody to really, you know, be better and do better and want more. And like you said, he gets a bad rap, and I don’t really understand why.”

The former Lakers player averaged 17.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 130 games with the purple and gold jersey. However, the Los Angeles squad went only 56-74 when he was on the floor.

Reaves also confessed that before landing in California he preferred to play for the Bucks

After two years in Los Angeles, Austin Reaves has established himself as one of the most important players on the Lakers roster, especially after having such a solid impact in the team’s playoff run to the Western Conference Finals this past season. It’s no secret why the purple and gold club recently signed him to a four-year extension worth $56 million.

The thing is, the 25-year-old has come a long way after being undrafted some time ago, as he told the “All the Smoke” podcast hosts about his process before being chosen by the Lakers. The foward confessed that he was very close to joining the Bucks, but they rejected him first.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIhJF_94veg

“Basically, we tiered teams — best fit for me,” Reaves said. “LA was I think (number) two on the list at the time. Milwaukee might have been one. But [the Lakers] were tier one.”

Apparently, he did have the chance to get drafted, as it seemed he would’ve been a second-round pick for the Detroit Pistons. However, Reaves decided to pass on the opportunity.

“We could have got drafted 42nd to Detroit, but declined that to put me in LA for a better spot,” the 25-year-old said. “… I didn’t really have to hear my name called either. I mean, obviously, I wanted to, but it was all about playing the long game.”