Austin Reaves picks his starting five for Olympics, including teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the list
Austin Reaves included two of his LA Lakers teammates to start for Team USA in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. The guard picked LeBron James and Anthony Davis as two of the starters — both of whom have shown the impact they can have in the ongoing showcase games. Reaves also picked two mercurial guards and an elite two-way big to complete his list.
According to CBS Sports, Reaves also included 4x NBA champion Steph Curry, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. He preferred to have Booker take over SG duties, while Embiid at the five would be the perfect combination alongside Davis at power forward.
Reaves' thoughts come from Kerr tinkering with multiple players in the starting unit. He has yet to insert Davis in the starting lineup. Still, that move just might be the one coming up next as Team USA has their final showcase games against Germany.
Austin Reaves played under Steve Kerr as part of the Team USA outfit for the FIBA World Cup last year. This year, the Golden State Warriors head coach will be tasked to lead an elite unit to win the gold at the Olympics and continue to assert their dominance at the marquee event.
Austin Reaves all set to work with newly-minted Lakers HC JJ Redick
With the LA Lakers appointing JJ Redick as their head coach, questions and debates continue on social media about how his run pans out. However, Austin Reaves did seem optimistic about the move.
Speaking to Cierra Clark of Arkansas' THV11, the guard expressed his excitement to work with the former NBA veteran.
"I've gotten to know JJ a little bit, going on his podcast during the middle of the year. He's a basketball genius, I think as everybody knows, and I think he's gonna make a good coach and I can't wait to get to work with him."
Both Reaves and Redick have shared a podcast episode, and that will surely see the latter have an idea about how he could unlock a better version of the guard. Reaves comes off from a decent 2023-24 season averaging a career-high 15.9 points and 5.5 assists — numbers that could see a spike if he and Redick manage to work on his game.
These comments on the back of Reaves' agent Aaron Reilly also spoke highly about Redick's hire. Now, only time will tell if the 26-year-old can play at a higher level than he did last season.