"Too skinny, not athletic enough": Austin Reaves is soaking in the roar of Philippines fans as he deals with criticism by shining for Team USA
Austin Reaves' inclusion to the Team USA roster for the FIBA World Cup has proven to be the right decision. Just after the game against New Zealand, 'Hilbilly Kobe' sparked the Americans to play their usual dominant game after being down early.
Looking back at his life even beyond basketball, Reaves is the perfect underdog story that people love to hear. He came to the NBA as an undrafted player and now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
More than just making the team, Reaves has been a key factor in why the Lakers are winning and he proved that by averaging 16.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 16 playoff games.
Austin Reaves knows that he has always been an underdog all his life and despite all the critics, he just chooses to just play the game that he loves without listening to detractors.
“It’s been like that my whole life, people always had something negative to say about me. Too skinny, not athletic enough, not skilled enough, you can go down the line, so I don’t see that changing in the future, honestly," said Reaves in an interview with Karl Tan of Full Court Fresh.
"So I just enjoy playing basketball and working on my craft, I’ve said this a million times, play the game the right way and I think the game will come full circle and it will reward you for doing that."
Austin Reaves has become a crowd favorite in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
Team USA played their first game against New Zealand at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. With the rough start, Coach Steve Kerr went to Austin Reaves to come off the bench and give the team a boost.
While Reaves was walking to the scorer's table, the crowd inside the Mall of Asia Arena erupted in anticipation of seeing him play on the court.
With the crowd roaring, the Philippines proved that they had a lot of Lakers fans watching and Reaves was told about this by Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy.
"I've kind of seen it coming. I was talking to Phil Handy, you know, and he was telling me that, you know, the love the Lakers out here so I kind of seen it coming and then, you know, it's just special for me," said Reaves. "I'm from a super small town obviously. Not a lot of people expected me to be here represent our country. For them to accept me that they accept me means a lot to me."
WATCH: Austin Reaves reacts to getting the loudest cheers among Team USA players
In 22 minutes of playing time, Reaves tallied 12 points, six assists, three steals, and two rebounds in Team USA's 27-point victory over New Zealand.