Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Austin Reaves provided a response to teammate D'Angelo Russell saying on Patrick Beverley's podcast that Reaves is overlooked as a player because he is white.
"Yeah, I mean, I think that is real life," Reaves said in an interview with NBC Sports. "I mean, there's instances where I see, you know, white players and I'm like, they can't be any good. And I think that's just kind of the nature of sports. Just because there's not many, and, you know, I played one year of AAU and I used to start. And I would walk out on the court, and everybody would be like, oh, I got the white boy. And then, three to four possessions later, I'm giving them hell and they're asking to switch.
"It's fun for me because I know I don't pass the eye test. I know I don't look like I play basketball. People ask me all the time still, 'Oh, you play golf? You play baseball? Tennis?' So, I still get it, but I at least have fun with it," Reaves said.
Reaves went undrafted in 2021 but has since become an important part of the Lakers' roster. Last season, he set career highs with 13.0 points per game on 52.9% shooting from the field and 39.8% shooting from deep.
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He also stepped it up during the Lakers' playoff run to the Western Conference Finals, averaging 16.9 points per game.
Earlier this month, Reaves signed a four-year contract worth $56 million to continue playing in purple and gold.
As for Russell, who rejoined the Lakers mid-season last year following a trade, also re-signed with the team for two years, $47 million.
