On August 28th in Manila, Philippines, Austin Reaves, aka Hillbilly Kobe, dominated over Team Greece by a score of 109-81, and this win secured Team USA onto the second round of the FIBA World Cup. Reaves ended the game with dropping 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, while only playing 17 minutes.
Reaves produced the most points off the bench, received a standing ovation from Filipino fans, and took home the TCL Player of the Game award. Silver Screen and Roll shares that for not having a lot of playing time, Reaves made 3 point shots, fast breaks, drew fouls, and a two handed dunk.
Sporting News wrote an article about Austin Reaves and how he’s Team USA’s not-so-secret weapon in the FIBA World Cup. Sporting News says that confidence is key for Austin Reaves, and they go on to say that he isn’t shy, nor afraid to score or pass the ball and point out to his teammates what to do next.
In The Athletic, they wrote, “Reaves’ [has grown] into a more assertive ball handler and scorer who’s comfortable testing the limits of his rapidly developing skill set.”
ESPN wrote an article about the takeaways from the game and they said many basketball lovers have seen Reaves’ growth and improvement. Every time Reaves plays, he always shocks the crowd with either his ball handling skills or his three pointers.
Sportskeeda wrote about Reaves and his journey of being a kid from Arkansas to being a vital role in the Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation. From playing high school and college basketball to being a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and Team USA is a big jump, but Reaves has showcased his all around skills through his whole career and it’s surprising how this is only his second year in the NBA.
