After his team’s 121-110 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, LeBron James was in a good mood while talking to reporters.
Austin Reaves had yet another strong game for the Los Angeles Lakers, and the topic of him posting an anti-James tweet about a decade ago came up.
Austin Reaves crazy for this post 😂😂😂😂 but credit to LeBron too. https://t.co/fvQNFJ1hob
— Gboye (@mcgboye) March 21, 2023
The four-time MVP, however, took no offense to it and said he forgives Reaves.
LeBron on Austin: "…Even if he loved Kobe more back in the day, I forgive him."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 30, 2023
Reaves was about as efficient as a player could be, going 7-of-8 from the field and making all four of his free throws, giving him 19 points on the night. He also had five assists while going back at Bulls guard Patrick Beverley, who made the “too small” gesture at James when the Lakers lost to Chicago on Sunday.
This time, it was Reaves scoring on Beverley late in the game and giving the loquacious guard the same gesture.
Austin just sonned Pat Bev lmaoooooo pic.twitter.com/3A8NPgZ2Jt
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 30, 2023
The undrafted second-year man may be low-key, but he is tougher than he looks, and his confidence has seemingly grown throughout the season.
After looking flat-footed on Sunday, Los Angeles controlled Wednesday’s contest almost from start to finish, as it outrebounded the Bulls and forged a big advantage at the free-throw line. James showed no ill effects from the right foot tendon injury that had sidelined him until Sunday, while Anthony Davis enjoyed some home cooking en route to 38 points.
The Lakers are now in eighth place in the Western Conference, and they will head north to play the Minnesota Timberwolves, who hold the seventh spot, on Friday. As has been the case for several weeks, they’re still within striking distance of their goal of finishing sixth in the West and avoiding the play-in tournament.
With just six games left in their regular season and their franchise player back in uniform, the Lakers have an immense opportunity to not only make the playoffs, but to also make some serious noise there and set themselves up for championship contention next season.
