Fans went OFF as Austin Reaves shoots up in All-Star fan votes: "Arrest the entire state of California"
LA Lakers second-year shooting guard Austin Reaves has proven to be a very valuable member of the Lakers’ rotation over his first two seasons. This season, Reaves is averaging 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game on a 48.8/36.0/89.6 shooting split.
Most would agree that these are very solid role-player numbers, especially for a player who went undrafted. However, to the surprise and dismay of many, Reaves’ solid play has earned him a spot in the latest NBA All-Star fan voting update. Reaves is even ahead of multiple stars, including Zach LaVine, De’Aaron Fox and Anthony Edwards, among others.
Austin Reaves has more All-Star votes than:
Bradley Beal
Chris Paul
Anthony Edwards
Jordan Poole
Darius Garland
Jordan Clarkson
Jalen Brunson
Zach LaVine
Desmond Bane
Anfernee Simons
De’Aaron Fox https://t.co/K64c6X7KW4
Naturally, NBA fans had some pretty strong reactions to the voting update.
“Arrest the entire state of California,” one fan said.
@BleacherReport Arrest the entire state of California
“Love AR, but that’s kinda disgusting,” another fan said.
@LakeShowYo Love AR, but that’s kinda disgusting
“There are too many laker simps worldwide,” another added.
@LakeShowYo There are too many laker simps world wide.
“Absolute Joke. Couldn’t clean (Darius) Garlands’ sneakers,” another added.
@LakeShowYo Absolute Joke.
Couldn’t clean Garlands sneakers
Many then used Reaves’ ranking as an argument for why fans should not be allowed to vote for who makes the All-Star teams.
“This is why they should limit fan votes lol,” one fan said.
@LakeShowYo This is why they should limit fan votes lol
“Need to not let fans vote 😂,” another added.
@LakeShowYo Need to not let fans vote 😂
However, some fans weren’t as surprised. Instead, they just attributed Reaves’ high ranking to the fact that he plays in LA for one of the most popular franchises in the NBA. They also compared his popularity to former Lakers fan favorite guard Alex Caruso.
“Why are people surprised, he plays for the Lakers. the media talks about the Lakers every 5 seconds, they hardly mention most of these other dudes,” one fan said.
@LakeShowYo why are people surprised, he plays for the lakers. the media talks about the lakers every 5 seconds, they hardly mention most of these other dudes.
“Power of LA. (Alex) Caruso got the same love,” another fan said.
@LakeShowYo Power of LA. Caruso got the same love
“Twas the same when Alex Caruso played for them,” another added.
@LakeShowYo Twas the same when Alex Caruso plays for them
A large number of Lakers fans on the other side of the aisle, albeit jokingly, defended Austin Reaves.
“Deserved,” one fan said.
@LakeShowYo Deserved
“He’s better than all of them,” another fan said.
@LakeShowYo He’s better than all of them
“I mean… he’s just as good as half of the players on this list,” another said.
@LakeShowYo I mean.. he’s just as good as half of the players on this list.
“That just goes to show how much he has improved this year. So proud of him being better than all of these players🟪🟨🟪🟨,” another added.
@LakeShowYo That just goes to show how much he has improved this year. So proud of him being better than all of these players🟪🟨🟪🟨
Finally, some also joked that they have been voting for Austin Reaves relentlessly and that their hard work has finally paid off.
“Me after voting for Reaves on my 386th account,” one fan captioned an old meme of NBA legend Vince Carter announcing his return for his 22nd season.
@LakeShowYo Me after voting for reaves on my 386th account https://t.co/30wiOjGO6S
“Me after voting for him with 75 different accounts,” another captioned an old meme of Lakers star forward LeBron James saying he wasn’t going to sleep until winning the NBA Finals.
@LakeShowYo Me after voting for him with 75 different accounts https://t.co/z9KIEj5tYS
Does Austin Reaves have a real shot at getting voted into the NBA All-Star game?
As fun as it is for Lakers fans to imagine Austin Reaves getting voted into the NBA All-Star Game, it almost surely won’t happen. Reaves is still millions of votes behind NBA superstars Steph Curry and Luka Doncic for the two starting backcourt spots in the Western Conference.
Plus, fan voting only accounts for 50.0% of the vote for All-Star starters, with the other 50.0% being decided by players and the media. Nonetheless, it’s always an entertaining annual tradition to see fans overreact to the voting updates.
LeBron James and Kevin Durant lead their respective conferences in the first fan returns of #NBAAllStar Voting presented by AT&T.
Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters. NBA players and a media panel account for 25% each.
The next fan update is Jan. 12. https://t.co/osVeUGI8H4
Also read: Fans merciless as LeBron James said he listens to Beethoven before games: “Ludacris Van beethomie”