 | | He's Back. Why is Reaves Always Seeking Revenge? | | He’s always had an edge—or is it a chip—regardless, just when you think you’ve seen all of AR’s game, he’ll show you more. | | by Taylor Geas | | | “I think the biggest thing was him taking a step forward as a leader,” JJ Redick said about Austin Reaves. “And recognizing that it’s as much his team as it is LeBron’s team or Luka’s team. And acknowledging that he does have innate, natural leadership skills and being able to tap into those more consistently. I told him he’s out of excuses; you’re no longer the undrafted guy who’s a young player. You’re one of the guys now. He’s been very responsive to that.” | | | Back in October and early November, one of the subtle ways Reaves displayed leadership was in the pregame huddles. He’d rally his team before each game with declarations like, “let’s go fight, let’s go compete, together on three.” Or “F—k it, let’s go hoop.” It often resulted in wins.
When addressing his pregame speeches, “It’s ‘cause Bron’s not here,” he responded to the question with a laugh.
But LeBron came back in mid-November after 14 games. The team gathered round each other outside their locker room; LeBron resumed his role and led the pregame huddle.
“Do your job now, go out there, play offense, play defense and be physical, we know what to do…” but Reaves interrupted him. The whole team diverted their attention from 23 to 15. “And one more thing,” he said, “Welcome back LeBron James.”
This type of assertiveness isn’t isolated; it’s been showing up in his game as well. All. Season. Long.
Reaves had a week of 51 points, 41 points and a game winner. After, Redick wanted everyone to take note, “This is who he is.” |  |
His head coach pointed out how Reaves has established himself as a “bad dude.” It wasn’t just the coaching staff who noticed. His teammate Rui Hachimura witnessed this almost immediately upon joining the team.
“I’m not going to lie, three years ago when I got traded here, I honestly didn’t know about him,” Hachimura recalled. Reaves was injured when Hachimura joined the team in February of 2023. But the game he returned, he crossed up Giannis Antetokounmpo for an easy layup. “I was like ‘Ooh he got it,’” Rui shared.
Reaves explained that the confidence he plays with (especially as it pertains to his handles) comes from his teammates and coaching staff letting him be himself.
“It can look crazy sometimes. They never tell me to reel it back; they tell me to go do what I do.”
His authentic nature shines on and off the floor. And it seems Austin can’t be anybody but himself, he’s still the person he was raised to be. Even now, as a superstar, nothing has changed. “When I go home, I’d rather eat my mom’s cooking, so I don’t really go out to eat much,” he explained. “The crazy thing is, if we do go out, it’s hard to get my parents to let me pay for my own meal—or even their meal. They’ll fight me for the bill, and I’m like, ‘Can I please pay?’ but they just say, ‘No.’ I’ve gotten better at finding ways to pay though, like when we walk in, I’ll just slip them my card without them noticing.” Even now, when he goes back to Newark, Ark., he keeps to himself and of course plays in the local charity golf tournament. Fame hasn’t changed him.
And even though he doesn’t want to be treated like a big deal, he still knows how to show up in the big moments. “He’s a dog, he’s a leader, he’s a competitor,” Jake LaRavia said. “He helps rally us together in all the tough times during the game. And he’s been leading us these past couple games that players have been out. He’s going to keep on doing it. He’s a really good basketball player, elite at everything.”
Of course, Reaves remained humble about being a leader on his team. He explained that he leads differently. He doesn’t do it in a loud, public way. He’d rather lead off to the side, on the bench or in the locker room. He declared he will never give a speech.
“I just create real relationships with these guys so I’m able to talk with them.” |  |
His success is no surprise to Jarred Vanderbilt, “We know his story, how hard he plays, what he means to us, to the city of LA.
That leadership role, I think that’s where he’s grown the most. We’ve got three guys that could possibly get 50 at any point.”
This mentality is directly in line with what the coaching staff has asked for this season. Redick talked about how his staff has pushed the team to play with an edge. He explains that it’s a habit that takes time to form, but when asked how he pushes the players to find their edge he answered, “I do it the only way I know how to do it. Just having my own edge.”
Austin has an edge; he has since day one. “I think it always comes from being underrated. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to be in this position,” he said.
You know the story about Reaves: He wasn’t recruited in high school. And he went undrafted after college. With the extreme growth he’s had each season, somehow his story always comes back to that. And he hasn’t forgotten any of it.
“Regardless of what I’m doing, how good I’m doing, there are still people out there saying ‘aw he’s not that good. He doesn’t do this good enough.’ People always find ways to get your mind to question. And I’m like ‘F--- them. I’m going to go do what I do.’”
So, you have a chip on your shoulder, he was asked.
“Yeah.”
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