Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges jokingly said that he doesn’t like Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves in a recent interview.
Bridges and Reaves are currently teammates on Team USA as it competes in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
“I don’t like him,” Bridges said. “I don’t like his a–. It’s gon’ be like that.”
The Nets wing quickly doubled back on those comments, sharing how he and Reaves have became close on Team USA.
“But, I think just the personalities and stuff – I don’t know, I think it was just – basically the first day it was just he’s cool and just stupid making jokes and stuff,” Bridges said. “And it just built from there. He’s a nut. He’s a goof. Just know that. It’s always him. He play too much. Obviously, I play around and make some jokes too.”
It’s great to see Reaves not only making a contribution to the team, but building relationships with other good young players in the NBA as well. The Lakers could potentially use Reaves’ relationships to help them bring more players to the team in the future.
The former undrafted free agent guard has made quite the name for himself over the past year.
In the 2022-23 season, which was just Reaves’ second in the NBA, the young guard showed that he could be an impact player in a bench role and as a starter. He averaged 13.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc, improving greatly from his rookie season.
The Lakers went deep in the playoffs because of that, making the Western Conference Finals before they were knocked out by the Denver Nuggets.
In the playoffs, Reaves averaged 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 16 games while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 44.3 percent from 3-point range.
His strong play has continued into World Cup play, as Reaves put up a great stat line in Team USA’s win on Saturday. He finished with 12 points, six assists and three steals.
Austin Reaves aka Captain America's staline for Team USA's first official win.
🇺🇸 12 points
🇺🇸 6 assists
🇺🇸 3 steals
🇺🇸 2 rebounds
🇺🇸 4/6 FG
🇺🇸 2/2 3PTNew AR1 release soon? pic.twitter.com/OQZefMz3ny
— KICKS CREW (@kickscrew) August 27, 2023
Bridges clearly enjoys being around a player like Reaves and his personality, and it’s always possible that the two players could eventually try to play together some day down the line.
Luckily for the Lakers, they locked Reaves into a four-year deal this offseason that should keep him in Los Angeles for a long time.
