Austin Reaves on Being Underestimated on the Basketball Court

In this clip, JJ Redick asks Austin Reaves (The Los Angeles Lakers) why he's such an a-hole?
Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter KZbin channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.
#nba #losangeleslakers

[@CLOPACIOUZZZ]

“I’m not blessed enough to just freestyle it” This is why he’s good. He’s self aware and knows his strengths and weaknesses.

[@Khorton014]

I never played anything at a high level, but as a white kid at a majority black school, I always relished in the “I got the white boy moments.”

[@noodlemans]

I sorta can relate. I was always a bit skinny as a kid and by looking at me, you’d never know I was an assassin at sports. People on the other team would always want to guard me thinking I’d be easy and I’d just torch them. My favorite part would always be the moment where their friends would start getting on them for their defense but it wouldn’t matter who they put on me.

[@blackout2430]

Yeah, we’ll try being the best player on your team when you’re the only white guy and everybody else is black. They give you that 1960s segregation treatment. they just wish that they were white and could ball and pull all the white Broads since they hate their own race

[@timboslice8559]

Same here was the only white guy on my HS basketball team, and at 1st glance all ppl expected me to was just shoot. So when I drove past them they would get pissed

[@bobby_hill8357]

Idk why you tolerate being called a white boy. Have some self respect.

[@blackout2430]

@@bobby_hill8357 exactly

[@ruivicente9146]

Humble guy. "i got to, Im not gifted enough to freestyle "👏👏👏 Wish you all the best

[@mijo5964]

Yeah he’s so humble 😂😂 No wonder he wants to play in LA.. he’s perfect for those people

[@courtingdeath3364]

@@mijo5964 Dude was glazing 🤣

[@groveboytae]

@@mijo5964”wants to”? my guy… literally anyone in the nba would wanna play with bron even curry said it would be an honor 😂😂😂😂

[@colorsabsract7107]

@@mijo5964 so humble people can’t play in LA? Dude you’re a clown. I bet you think all blacks are thugs. All Mexicans are drug dealers. All Russians are communists? You’re deluded lil bro, the most humble can decided to reside and play in LA. Just like the most arrogant can play for Houston or Minnesota. You’re a clown

[@_Glocktober]

Congrats on hitting a mil well deserved dude for real !!

[@highlightcenter5651]

The biggest joke that JJ said is his first line “I’m supposed to be unbiased as a media member” 😂😂😂 please name me one unbiased sports media member outside of like Tim legler

[@emilioreyes4159]

True

[@WillThomas-hs3oj]

Lit the complete opposite lol

[@rkms5606]

Tim's not unbiased 😂

[@imightbebiased9311]

Look, he didn't say he WAS unbiased, he says he's SUPPOSED to be unbiased. :D

[@SamuelJ888]

Nick Wright is pretty nbiased

[@uberempty]

fell in love watching this dude against my nuggest last playoffs. this boy is good. really hope he gets some more time to shine in the league

[@geetachilds1200]

He will he cold we love him in Laker County ❤

[@JonDoe-007]

He's 25 years old. He's not a boy. Stop calling all white players boy. You don't like it when a white person calls you boy because you're black and think it's racist, like how you think everything is racist. Boy

[@evanfrancis6000]

Congrats on the 1 MiL JJ, Tommy, and behind the scenes🎉🎉🎉. Don’t you dare leave KZbin 😐

[@Buluga06]

Austin has earned everything he’s gotten and deserves the praise he gets for being a great human being

[@ev651]

The fact that the first thing he mentioned is his bad games and overcoming them first says a lot. He's a winner

[@blackbuddha7731]

He's country as hell 😂

[@trillamannwinters6963]

He’s from Arkansas

[@rueservin]

He sounds like Jason Williams

[@achimwitcoustic9585]

😂

[@JK-vc7ie]

I played pickup ball once in Long Beach CA. I was the only white guy in this particular game. The guy covering me was basically not covering me so after a few made shots by me his teammates yelled at him and told him to step up, saying “he’s got a J”. I guess meaning I’ve got a jumpshot or something. Then he replies with “yeah they all do”. Meaning, white guys like me out here playing can shoot jumpers pretty good, but also there was the implication that that’s all they have. In my case he was not wrong. His assessment was accurate. 😂

[@northstarmedia8508]

You guys should live stream while on the pod

[@BaltimoreBirds]

Nothing but the best of wishes for AR and JJ! 💜👏🙏

[@Joe-B-xz4os]

When I saw what he did against Jalen Suggs & Gonzaga, I had a feeling he’d be good at the next level 👊🏿

[@TheMissiIe]

Ok LeLies

[@damianhudson7985]

@@TheMissiIe he was a problem at Oklahoma. Do some research house of highlights isn’t the only thing that shows basketball

[@Joe-B-xz4os]

@@damianhudson7985 A HUGE PROBLEM 👊🏿

[@alexha2884]

As a Gonzaga fan, he was pissing me off all game at how he was destroying us lol

[@timboslice8559]

⁠@@damianhudson7985yup you could tell at Oklahoma because he hardly settled for a 3 pointers and looked to drive and draw contact, which he did a a lot. And he could shoot 3s when he needed to

[@m9ch15l]

Even larry bird underestimated white guy lol

[@Marx1684]

AR doing the work. I was sleeping in those handles until I seen him shake up multiple defenders. I know he has a shot but he can definitely get you off of him. 💪🏾

[@WyWid]

Sleeping on an NBA guards handles? Delusional

[@mijo5964]

Thank you refs for the soft whistles for flopping pu$$ies

[@getmoneychill6462]

AR is a flopper & he looks for fouls

[@geetachilds1200]

@@WyWidof course when you think of handles you think of players like Kyrie this guy can straight out ball 🏀

[@GTNover]

When Austin says "im not blessed enough to just be free styling" it really says a lot about how much growth there is still in basketball. The very top level of the game is still saturated with people who do not understand the intricacies of the game and get by on mostly talent (think Lance Stephenson or Bol Bol). Eventually there will not be room for those players because there will be some with close enough talent that has far superior play style and understanding of the game.

[@Artistically-Him]

Lmao

[@who7092]

I'll give you Bol Bol, and you can say that about a lot of 7 footers... but Lance Stephenson? Hell no. Stephenson was a slightly overweight prospect with average to below average height/speed/vertical jumping abilities. He was a 2nd round pick for a reason -- safe to say he was far from the most athletic or talented guy in the gym. He mostly got by on hustle, mind games, and just generally being a prick, similar to an enforcer in the NHL. He had a strategy and applied it well.

[@GTNover]

@who7092 I'll admit that Lance probably is not at the top of the list for relying solely on talent, and he was a bad person to use as one of my two examples. But the dude was a 6'5" gaurd with massive hands. He was big and strong enough to guard wings and fast enough to guard opposing guards. He was a good playmaker and played mind games really well, so point taken, not a great example. I'll go J.R. Smith as a replacement. Great shooting talent, and had all the complimentary skills. Didn't understand the game at all, and not just because he forgot the score.

[@Thatboygtmike]

@@GTNoverJR a champ man stop it lol. A 6th man of the year as well with 10+ year career. You don’t know how much these guys work to get there bro so just stop it lol.

[@GTNover]

@Thatboygtmike Well yeah, man, that's exactly my point. That players like JR Smith can be 6th man of the year and be a contributor to a championship team with talent alone. Saying, "He was 6th man of the year and is a champion," doesn't disprove that. JR was a great talent. Lights out shooter, and had all the complimentary skills as I said. But he had no flow or movement in an offense and no understanding of defensive angles. He also didn't understand when to foul or any simple strategy in basketball. But he has a ring specifically because he was talented enough.

[@maddie00334]

Thanks so much for everything you do! 😀

[@Pagan1130]

Can we get Coby White on the pod? He’s been balling since Zack has been out. It would be great to get an insight on the mindset.

[@TheRealPlanetFaz]

That's not good enough to be on a podcast. Lol

[@ImAviex]

@@TheRealPlanetFaz Homie is the Pod Procurator LOL

[@BlueHundred1]

Yeah, I thought he might fall out of the league with him seemingly getting worse each year. This bit of a breakout would be interesting to hear about

[@christopherlee8499]

@@TheRealPlanetFazbro thinks he’s JJ reddick

[@TheRealPlanetFaz]

@@christopherlee8499 I mean it's just so random. Might as well invite Ja because Grizzlies are on a 2 game winning streak since he came back. LOL

[@phenixshakti7]

Jj reddict i miss those tyree evans games you and him going at it if you have film post it you were kold those games rs mane post that game on your channel

[@imightbebiased9311]

Reaves has looked like he's got dead legs to start this season. He's also picked up some of the bad habits of the team, making some absolutely boneheaded turnovers to in the few first weeks of the season. Once he got to the bench to bridge the second unit, he's been doing much better.

[@Aj4youtube]

Try being Asian. I been called Jeremy Lin. Yao Ming. I even heard Zhi Wang.

[@lamart3857]

Austin got it out the hillbilly mud 💪💯

[@lawbinson]

And this dude just plays golf all day 😂

[@cghoward70]

This guy not getting to play for Eric Musselman at Arkansas is criminal…the timing was just a few years off.

[@JarrettWalksOttawa]

How come you don't cover the Raptors? Not a word all year.

[@brianfergus839]

I played street ball in the SF Bay Area back in the late ‘80s and ‘90s - I was always “the white guy”. The brothers always underestimated me and it was always an advantage.

[@MMAjsf7]

I’m sure

[@brianfergus839]

@@MMAjsf7 the combination of me having a good j and street ballers not knowing how to play d typically worked to my advantage

[@jasonau427]

Did they treat you badly? Or did they give you respect when they realized you could hoop?

[@user-jw5qj8kv2y]

The Lakers often acquire talented players in the draft. But the Lakers are bad at developing players.

[@NobleKenshin]

Right if they had Randle, Kuzma and Ingram now that they're grown and matured that would be an interesting roster

[@thehobojarpen]

​@@NobleKenshin As opposed to trading for AD and then immediately winning a championship? I swear some of y'all care more about being a fantasy GM than actually winning.

[@protector_of_the_realms]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@thehobojarpenBall (we’re changing history here so maybe he doesn’t get as injured because the games he plays are now completely different or maybe he unfortunately does still don’t know), Ingram, Kuzma, Dlo, Randle, Reaves, Hart, Zubac, Caruso, THT and Mo Wagner would be the deepest roster in the nba. Hart and Caruso are the only ones not averaging over 10 points. You have multiple all stars and multiple team USA players which pretty much no one else has. Granted they’re low level calibre players of those specific classes but if you have the right coaching staff that’s an insane team unlike any other and a possible dynasty. Plus with all those players in their young prime now you would probably only need to trade one of them max 2 and all the draft picks we’d still have for another superstar ascending of the same age or another one that’s already established. I’d usually rather chance a naturally grown dynasty than just 1 championship although the 2020 one was really important to me since we lost Kobe. Since that championship though I have found our team hard to watch for chemistry and roster issues. It’s also just hard for me to watch too if there’s not a player I really like that has stuck with the team that we’ve drafted but Dlo, Reaves and I’ve tricked myself around Rui technically to kinda fit in that boat a little haha. But over the past 3 seasons I’ve been watching way more Bucks games than Lakers ngl with how fun that team is with Giannis and built the right way

[@humbleservant2827]

They definitely got you. targeted every night and can’t play a lick of defense against the elite players in the league

[@cashcali5214]

We all love him!!

[@kwenton33]

Austin averaged a triple double his senior year in Arkansas. Scored 73 pts. An won a state championship title every year in high school. Dude was def a bucket gave us crazy work. 😂😂

[@mikete714]

He’s odds on favorite for 6th man of the year in Vegas atm.

[@mijo5964]

Hahahahah😂😂😂😂 omg so true.. Austin is the best flopper in the game and definitely 6th man of the year

[@mikete714]

@@mijo5964 lol I’m just saying what the odds are. They had Austin reaves the favorite at plus’s 100 the other day. He plays with lebron what do you expect?

[@whatsgood22022]

High school level basketball player with a tiny bit of college. Nothing better than being underestimated as the “white boy”. Naturally puts a chip on the shoulder.

[@chilout2496]

How they in the finals a million times in the last 10 years?

[@Yo-wd6ch]

Performance= confidence

[@beankobe8205]

Facts the kid gets open shots cuzz Lebron on his team😂😂😂😂come on now

[@robinyourhood76]

@@beankobe8205 Bruh just say u haven't seen a single Lakers game since like 2015. A lot of shots Austin takes are with contact or tightly guarded.

[@danger1026]

​@@robinyourhood76 fr fr 😂😂😂

[@blackout2430]

@@beankobe8205 get lost uncle t

[@ksneidndkdoknnw]

​@@beankobe8205 black guy downplaying whites

[@benjaminchase8947]

JJ interviewing himself

[@youngancestor_]

coming back to this after the hiring im sure hes gonna connect with the young guys like ar15 !

[@hippyllamas]

Austin is gonna flourish under him

[@user-ks5zi8zf9o]

reaves is gifted fr, he a good nba player.

[@mijo5964]

Good at flopping and playing on a stacked team.. give him a couple years when the Lakers are gutted and no longer relevant

[@blackout2430]

@@mijo5964 you’re probably another brother who wishes he was white too

[@Stillhovering]

@@blackout2430no one black even during slavery wished to be white 😂

[@SR-ti6jj]

@@mijo5964 This was rude. You should apologize to AR

[@WillThomas-hs3oj]

Duhhh

[@kobegoodall3444]

He actually sounds country Lmao

[@mikeS-ow7lc]

When I was in high school I had 4 or 5 friends were we played basketball for years together we dominated other schools until we got split up but i loved going to different playgrounds or ymcas and dominate grown men who would underestimate us because we were white and young and we almost always won

[@jordanbabcock9349]

WOW!! AWESOME STORY!! Kidding. Nobody cares. Y'all went around crushing people, you got a state championship? Bet not.

[@shakenbacon-vm4eu]

@@jordanbabcock9349apparently you really care. Loser.

[@JohnnytNatural]

Austin needs to get on EPO if his legs are gone in just 2 series, this aint even championship games, Bron be holding his secrets tight, no wonder his teammates suck

[@ethanfay6091]

literally every player that has ever majority guarded steph said they would be gassed after it.. steph is always moving

[@milan6884]

In Eastern Europe, it's vice versa lol.

[@aj7010]

“i make it up as i go out there” also from same guy “i don’t just freestyle out there” dude contradicted himself in 3 minutes

[@nelsondendomo6687]

To sum it up, he basically thinks the bucks season was a failure😭

[@lightsout00]

Jj thought he had swag 😂😂

[@lueyville9322]

Unbiased 😂

[@brandonraj7020]

Lol his 21 year old legs were worn guarding Steph! Holy moly.

[@flossysportstv98]

So is 90% of the nba

[@jhenryproductionz6388]

@@flossysportstv98also leaving out the part where he said the series take the toll on every.single.player

[@CarbonComs]

He's like 25

[@edwardmohan3056]

Steph is perpetually in motion and it’s almost impossible to force him to pick up his dribble when he has the ball. Who wants to guard that?

[@andreasfelten9455]

not qite but still he against any half-decent player same result@@flossysportstv98

[@yoinkhaha]

When is he gonna do the Reaves on bein OVERrated on the basketball court video

[@dantheman1109]

He Tough

[@EpsThatGuy]

Thats an Arkansan right there baybeeee.

[@krin5506]

Good for him

[@renelopez2244]

AR NEEDS TO BUILD MORE MUSCLE MASS

[@usernameiphone3gkid]

I got the black boy

[@fuegotime8482]

You’re a sensitive white boy

[@Gunit867899]

I was 5'8 white derrick rose in the parks of nyc. Whoever said i got the white boy also lasted about 3 to 5 possessions before the next fool tested his luck. But after sometime hooping, they all knew my name and the new ballers were warned that the white boy is nice if there was someone there that knew me.

[@WillThomas-hs3oj]

LOl

[@onesimpletrick]

I was the 5’7” Latino Horace Grant of the Tulsa YMCA

[@azzmaster0]

I was the 5’4 Guatemalan Lebron James of the Houston youth basketball program

[@trestiles1914]

I was the 5’3 Bermudian Vince carter of my middle school intramural basketball tournament

[@jordanbabcock9349]

OP wasn't anything, anywhere. Never heard of ya. You a white D.Rose but can't make G league?

[@Eseibio__]

He ain't no tom Chambers.. stop it

[@soonerman3695]

My favorite underrated player in the NBA

[@jasonau427]

Nothing about dude is underrated lol

[@tj-mb3fy]

Larry bird would be seething if Austin reaves ever picked him up..

[@dahc0023]

How does that correlate with literally anything said on this video…no one said He could stop or compete with an all time great… y’all are so weird on this damn internet it’s embarrassing at times

[@blackout2430]

Bad take. Stay off the drugs

[@likeatree-ei8it]

It's a shame he plays for the Lakers. I could like him so much more

[@Bob-fj7lr]

As a rookie, bro knew he was gonna be on Lebron's team, and his mindset was how it would be easy for them to work together just based on their personalities. That's a wild way to look at things, like a cashier walking in and making business models on day 1.

[@JonathanNelsonOfficial]

Can't believe we got blessed with the white trio: JJ and The Hillbilly Knechtion

[@fastbreakreport]

Story of my life.

[@larrytheloner7964]

Imagine someone saying "I got the black boy"

[@jasonau427]

In Hockey and LaCrosse I’m sure it happens.

[@matthewrutters6842]

@jasonau427 Don't lie. The person caught saying that would be crucified. Admit it. There's a heavy double standard.

[@jasonau427]

@@matthewrutters6842 It’s possible. Depends on the environment. There is a double standard but the context of America’s history has to be taken into account AND black people by in large are not racists.

[@jasonau427]

@@matthewrutters6842 Black kid goes on the ice and Im sure theres an “I got Jammal” that would get a lot of laughs. Context matters.

[@proudamerican4613]

JJ Reddick is soo amazing and loved by most sane NBA players. JJ would be a great NBA GM. I like the relationship he has with Joel Embiid.

[@onetime9678]

Imagine an office setting….the supervisor calls an employee or even another employee “ Blacky” . I’m going to have to talk to Blacky lol. Mental breakdown and suing would pursue. White guy just shrugs it off ..

[@caseyhouser9839]

Imagine the white player saying this. Not just in this sport

[@SethWoodsYT]

I'm like the goodwill version of Austin Reaves.. 6'0 skinny white boy I went to a smaller college for hoops but I dropped 40 on multiple occasions and I can confirm it was always fun when people underestimated me (always) and you end up just cooking them for an entire game.

[@jackreilly4427]

Im Like the goodwill version of josh diddey in my grandmas backyard against my little cousins. I drop 40 on them too so Ik what you mean.

[@SethWoodsYT]

That's deep@@jackreilly4427

[@msr187]

Caruso was showing him who the real white boy was

[@ViolinMustard-jo3hp]

This is technically click bait

[@nicklauschristofonoXXII]

Underestimated?! This guy is so over hyped it's sad.

[@psychobilly09]

Jordan aint as good in the backyard as the UC

[@Cfullerrrr]

I seen

[@Whosetheyoutubewarrior]

My curveball was 110 mph when I was only 41 on my highschools varsity freshman basketball team. I only started away games👍🏽

[@HHLakers]

🐐

[@geetachilds1200]

You our white boy ❤❤❤

[@BreakingNVain]

This reminds me of a white guy saying, I've got the black boy

[@Brsrafal]

Lakers got him cheap just getting into his prime all around planet he will still get little better.

[@Raider870]

He got that bird in him

[@DineNastyLakers]

Imagine if someone said that about a black player. Double standards = democrat views

[@walkerrickey88]

He said absolutely nothing, why is this a clip!?

[@daindigokid]

What JJ know about “you got some sh** witchu!” Lol

[@reggiefurlow1]

I'm the black guy they pick over the white kid that's way better lol

[@simonmccamus7817]

"It's gonna be hell for you. It's gonna be 3 possessions before you get subbed/switched out." Money lol.

[@r.mhaych5021]

I need a.r to be a laker for life

[@user-ir3in3fr3q]

So what would happen if a white nba player shouted "I got the black boy" on the court? Would they be labelled racist or no?

[@life0093]

Yep. Because black people didn’t enslave white people. Context is everything

[@tomburkart7814]

In Arkansa they might even say something else

[@fuegotime8482]

Too many black people on the court. They would say “who??”. That’s why white boy is used

[@Beck-Stein]

Obviously underestimated due to racism. Obvious.

[@johnszczerba9979]

Nobody will say it but the physicality being taken out of the NBA and basically turning it into a ballet with shooting has helped certain players like AR. Two decades ago he woulda not been this good

[@Poppi-Poppa-Socky]

Darvin Ham be hating on this man. Doesn't utilize him enough.

[@kylechermak7092]

Everybody gangster until AR pull up like “it’s gon’ be hell!” 🤠

[@andreasfelten9455]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@darksoulquis5643]

We not go know how good reeves is til Lebron leaves la

[@stevegardner3556]

@JJReddick and @TommyAlter I know this is a video about Ja, but I've been looking into Embiid's stats and he should be running away with the MVP right now. When Wilt averaged 50.4 pts he was doing it on 131.1 possessions per game. Right now, Embiid is averaging 65.2 points per 131.1 possessions.He is easily having the greatest scoring season of all time while averaging a career high in assists and being top 5 in defensive win shares. If he keeps this up it would be the greatest statistical season in the history of the NBA. Oh, and his PER is 35!, which is the highest in history by a margin of 2.16. To put that into perspective, the distance between 2nd and 3rd is 0.77.

[@Noir_Nouveau]

This needs to be the year the 76ers win or at least go to Finals JE stats are impressive but without team success they will be somewhat hollow.

[@kendob9642]

Jokic 10x more valuable than embiid

[@akumicobain]

JJ ‘As a media member’ Redick

[@chijaytavaakachija1513]

That ‘you’re to small’ to pat bev going to get Austin some tough days. Pat got suspended and fined for Austin. Pat called it as he did time for him with the Lakers. Going to be some tough scoring days in Austin’s future.

[@alswanathan]

Pat bev is 35 he’ll be out of the league in 2-3 years max

[@chijaytavaakachija1513]

@@alswanathan sure and true. But lets not act like Pat cant lock Austin up. He’s not even all star material. He literally is amazing bc he doesnt show up in regular clothes, not play like hes hurt, and get you 10 pts. Pat is worth more than that.

[@nickneill8913]

@@chijaytavaakachija1513so bev did the too small to lebron who is also ARs teammate, why should he defend his former teammate over his current one?

[@tealsquare]

They are very good friends...wtf you on about?

[@MrPixel-qh4pr]

This white boy can play

[@WarhawksKilla345]

Guy is definitely not overlooked on those Lakers. He can easily take Russells spot but idk y they don't keep giving him the chance

[@sjb3240]

Stop flopping tho

[@obsidian7644]

Im expecting big things from ar15 in the future. LA better not even think of trading the beating heart of the team.

[@andreasfelten9455]

trade him and get a decent player while he is overhyped

[@rasheedakins2277]

Once Lebron is gone....he will flourish

[@RunesField]

…so basically he had to endure racism? As a black man, that’s never fun to hear. Sure, it sometimes works out in the end when we get a Serena and Venus, or an Austin Reeves - but I got the white boy is as racist as the other way. Period. Sorry you had to deal with that, Austin.

[@thecuriousoutsider]

A 15 5 & 5 player on a Lebron team could be a 25 5 & 5 player on a bad team.

[@andreasfelten9455]

he aint no Luka lol

[@moonchild9315]

When I play and people say “I got white boy” I say don’t call me that, I have a name it’s about respect if I said “i got black boy” we’d be having a different conversation