Austin Reaves joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021. Since then, he has been a revelation. Reaves started playing off the bench. Gradually, he got his place in the starting lineup. Later as his second season in the NBA got over, Reaves demand reached skyrocketing. The Lakers Nation looks at him like he is the third most essential player on the Lakers side after LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It has been a massive growth indeed, only in his second professional season. However, unlike Austin Reaves, there has been a former Laker who lost his stardom to a certain extent reaching the mid-season this year.
Russell Westbrook got the most blame for the poor streak of the Los Angeles Lakers back in the early stages of the 2022-23 season. But before the Lakers traded Westbrook, there were some rumors that Russell was like a vampire who was sucking the energy out of the team in the locker room. In response to this allegation, there have been different reactions from fans and Russell’s teammates. Lately, Austin Reaves reacted to this rumor on the All The Smoke podcast denying such allegations. Instead, Reaves had only good things to tell about his former teammate.
Austin Reaves Doesn’t Remember His Former Teammate As A Vampire In The Locker Room
Moreover, Austin Reaves mentioned that Russell Westbrook was one of the best teammates he ever had. Adding to that, Reaves told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that, as a person, it is really hard to get any better than Westbrook. In his rookie season, Reaves tested positive for Covid and was stuck in Minnesota for a week. It was a pretty rough week. But Russell Westbrook reached out to him several times, offering him anything he needed. Hence, Austin Reaves has many such fond memories of Russell Westbrook.
"He's one of the best teammates I've ever had… I got Covid December of my rookie year in Minnesota. He reached out 3 or 4 times, asked if I need anything, offered to send me stuff."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 20, 2023
Austin Reaves on Russell Westbrook 💯
(via @shobasketball)pic.twitter.com/ZGWv40k74W
The Oklahoma Sooners kid mentioned, “I don’t understand why Russ gets such a bad rep.” According to Austin Reaves, Westbrook was always empowering the team to do well and do better. Hence, the new sensation of the Lakers believes the fans have mostly misunderstood the former MVP. Moreover, Austin Reaves does not see Westbrook as a villain. On the other hand, everybody knows that Reaves is a fan of LeBron James as well. They are very close. Reaves talks about James, “He is like a kid in the most wonderful way.”
Russell Westbrook Got The Blames For Everything
When Russell Westbrook joined the side, the Lakers Faithful hoped to see the trio of James, Davis, and Westbrook in destructive mode and help the LA side win titles. Instead, what they saw was a non-performing nine-time All-Star. Even though many experts believe Westbrook was assisting well and playing the role of the Sixth man to the best of his abilities, the fans and the front office were losing patience.
The main complaint was that Russell Westbrook was not scoring as well as expected. Later, it became essential to trade him before the February trade deadline. That’s what Rob Pelinka managed to do. Pelinka and his front office traded Westbrook to the Utah Jazz. Later, Russell Westbrook signed with the city rivals, Los Angeles Clippers.
