The Los Angeles Lakers signed Austin Reaves to a standard NBA contract to make him the 14th player on the roster heading into the 2021-22 season. Reaves went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft but reportedly impressed enough during workouts to get his shot with the Lakers.
While Reaves is likely not going to have much of an impact in this upcoming season, he has all the makings of being a special developmental player for the Lakers. The Lakers have been fantastic in developing players like Reaves, so if the Lakers like him, that means something.
One player that Reaves is already getting compared to is Alex Caruso, who just signed a four-year deal with the Chicago Bulls. Like Reaves, Caruso also went undrafted and did not project to be an NBA contributor. He turned into one of the best defensive guards in the league.
Reaves’ skillset is much different than Caruso’s but the buzz around Reaves is already extremely similar to Caruso. Caruso became an NBA Twitter sensation due to his “memeability”. Reaves is already becoming a sensation with Laker fans as he revealed his Kobe Bryant-inspired nickname that is sure to make its rounds in NBA Twitter.
Hillbilly Kobe. You cannot make this up. Reaves was then asked if he was more hillbilly or he was more Kobe, to which he responded that it is about 50/50. That has to be on the shortlist of the greatest nicknames in Lakers’ history and should be added to his Basketball-Reference page pronto.
Speaking of Caruso, he too had a Kobe-inspired nickname that did not really take off — the Bald Mamba. As great as that nickname is, Hillbilly Kobe has him beat.
Los Angeles Lakers fans should already love Austin Reaves.
Not only is Reaves a great feel-good story as he is getting a chance with the league’s most prestigious team after being undrafted but his sense of humor makes him an easy player to root for on the Lakers.
It takes some guts to speak in front of the media on Lakers media day and confirm a nickname as hilariously ridiculously as Hillbilly Kobe, especially considering he is now playing for the team that Kobe Bryant spent his entire career with.
There is some shades of Kobe Bryant in Reaves, although those shades are probably only 5% of what Kobe was when he played. While Reaves struggles at shooting threes (Kobe was not the most efficient three-point shooter), he is really good at creating his own shot. Reaves is a bit of a throwback two-guard in the sense that he loves to create his own shot off the dribble, typically in the mid-range.
Reaves also has an extremely high motor, is a great rebounder for a two-guard and is always going 110% when he is on the court. Those are all traits that Kobe would have appreciated.
Twitter is already having fun with this one as well. One Lakers fan pitched the idea of calling Reaves the Barn Mamba, which is equally as hilarious as Hillbilly Kobe. Meanwhile, the Kamentzky brothers revealed a little-known nickname for Kobe Bryant that completely flew under the radar.
Little known fact: One of Kobe's many nicknames included "Lower Merion Austin Reaves." AK
— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) September 28, 2021
Austin Reaves has not even played a regular-season minute with the Los Angeles Lakers and we already love him.