Lakers’ Austin Reaves recieves praise from many NBA stars after his first Team USA displays

During Team USA’s first three tune-up matches ahead of this month’s FIBA World Cup, many players have stood out including Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards and of course, Austin Reaves. The Lakers rising star has been recieving lots of praise lately as he keeps proving his basketball IQ is elite.

Coming off the bench, this past weekend he combined with 21 points in Team USA’s victories against both Spain and Slovenia.

Superstar LeBron James, who has constantly been outspoken about his trust in Reaves’ potential, was one of the first to cheer his debut match representing the United States last week against Puerto Rico. Check out what his Lakers teammate posted about him after he dropped 9 points, won four rebounds and handed out four assists that night:

Bron was loving Austin Reaves’ debut for Team USA 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/eLWGlWdpPN

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 8, 2023

“That’s my guy. I’ve learned a lot from him over the past two years. It feels good when he validates that you can actually play,” Reaves said about LeBron after the game.

However, it was his current US teammate Mikal Bridges who went into detail over why the 25-year-old is so special.

“This ain’t no underdog s*** no more,” the Brooklyn foward said after a Team USA practice. “He’s here. … I’ve been a fan. … I think the biggest thing about him I like is that he knows how to draw a foul. He knows how to create fouls and get to the free-throw line and that’s like a skill. He’s not just getting there. There’s a skill to that and it’s very underrated. People don’t really understand it but the ones that do, they know how tough it is to guard. That s***‘s an art.”

Washington Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma was another star who took his thoughts on Reaves to social media. “AR is such a good basketball player,” he posted.

Kyrie Irving also joked around saying that Reaves’ great performances are due to them sharing personal trainers

Apparently both Kyrie Irving and the Lakers third-year player share the same personal trainer, and the Mavs star believes that’s part of the reason he’s playing so well.

“Tell Austin to stop working out with my trainer,” Irving said jokingly. “Somebody tell Austin Reaves to stay out of Coach Handy’s coaching clinic. That’s tough, hey, that’s an and-one.”

Take a look at his most recent performance after hitting 10 points against Spain this weekend:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHlvV6tR1wk

After producing career averages of 10.2 points and 2.6 assists, Austin has signed a four-year, $53 million deal in Los Angeles in restricted free agency. According to NBA insider Jovan Buha, the Lakers expect to handle more offensive responsibility through Reaves this upcoming campaign.

“The Lakers plan on running more of their offense through Reaves next season, unlocking the point guard skills he’s flashed through his first two years in the league, according to team sources not authorized to speak publicly,” Buha said.