Austin Reaves' brother calls out trolls for hate posts following Lithuania loss: "Really had... tweets just waiting in the drafts"
Austin Reaves' brother Spencer Reaves defended the Lakers star after he got brutally mocked online following Team USA's 110-104 upset loss against Lithuania on Saturday. Reaves had a bunch of critics questioning his selection for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
However, he had shut them down after emerging as one of Team USA's best scorers in the tune-up and the tournament's first four games. Reaves' fine run ended against the Lithuanians after he scored only seven points on 1-of-4 shooting before fouling out. Reaves lasted only 13 minutes. He also got targeted in mismatches by Lithuania on defense.
Austin Reaves faced major blame after the loss, with his critics recalling their initial reactions to his selection. No other player faced as much heat on Team USA back then or after Saturday's loss. Here are some reactions to his performance:
However, his older brother Spencer wasn't letting Austin's haters get away with their frequent jabs following the loss.
"People really had “Austin Reaves sucks” tweets just waiting in the drafts for a bad game," wrote Spencer on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Several fans weren't excited for Reaves when he got selected as they believed he hadn't proved himself yet. The other reason is that he was favored because he's a Lakers player. It's not surprising to see them pounce on the soon-to-be third-year guard, who finally had a game to forget since he put on the Team USA jersey for the first time.
Austin Reaves is the second-highest scorer on Team USA
Trolls can mock Austin Reaves all they want, but it doesn't change his impact on Team USA so far, barring the game against Lithuania. The Lakers guard has averaged the second-most points on the team while coming off the bench.
Across five games, Reaves has tallied 10.8 points and three assists per contest, shooting 52.0%, including 46.2% from 3-point range and a team-high 91.7% from the free-throw line. His assists and 3-point percentage are also the second-best on the 12-man roster featuring multiple All-Stars.
Steve Kerr has used Reaves as a go-to option, especially when the team needs a push on offense. He has proven himself a momentum-shifter during USA's up-and-down starts against their opponents in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The Americans struggled as a unit against Lithuania, so it's unfair to blame Austin Reaves for the surprising result. Nobody had it going apart from Anthony Edwards, who tallied 35 points and three steals.
Reaves and the rest of Team USA will hope to bounce back after getting a wake-up call before their quarterfinal game against Italy tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 5).