LeBron James, Austin Reaves versus the Memphis Grizzlies

Lakers star reveals how LeBron James reacted to his old Facebook posts

Many young athletes are able to play with or against some of their heroes once they make it to the professional level. You would think that would be the case for 24-year-old Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who is playing alongside LeBron James for the second season of his young career.

But there was actually a time when Reaves wasn’t necessarily a fan of James, revealed through an old Facebook post by him that recently resurfaced.

In 2012 when Reaves was 13 years old, he posted a meme on Facebook that took a jab at James. Reaves posted a picture of Kobe Bryant shrugging that was captioned, “When I need some peace and quiet I set my phone to LeBron mode, no ring.” 

Reaves made sure to clear the air with James personally after the photo of his old post resurfaced, an exchange that he shared with Fox Sports.

“I called Bron over and was like, ‘Look, I was s—-ing on you back in 2012. I was a Kobe fan,’” Reaves said. “[James] just laughed it off.”

It’s clear there were no hard feelings between the two over the hilarious old post, as James has won four NBA titles since.

Reaves will now be looking to help James achieve his fifth NBA championship this season, as the Lakers face the Golden State Warriors Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. ET. The Lakers currently have a 3-1 series lead on Golden State, and a win would advance them to the Western Conference Finals.

More on Austin Reaves

Austin Reaves unexpectedly burst onto the scene this season for the Los Angeles Lakers. After spending two seasons of college at Wichita State and three at Oklahoma, Reaves went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft despite earning First-team All-Big 12 honors his senior season and averaging 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.

Reaves signed a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after the draft in August of 2021, signed a standard NBA contract the next month, and made his NBA debut the following month. He made 61 game appearances and 19 starts for the Lakers in 2021, averaging 7.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

He took his game to another level in 2022, becoming a key contributor throughout the season. Reaves averaged 13 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on the season, and has had a handful of standout performances along the way, including three 20-plus point scoring outbursts so far in this year’s playoffs.

Reaves has oftentimes been the team’s primary ball handler alongside James, a role that he’s thrived in. And if he continues to do so, the Lakers could see themselves back in the Finals when June rolls around.