From Meme to Main Man: The Unbelievable Rise of Austin Reaves and the New Chapter for the Lakers
When you talk about the NBA, no franchise casts a bigger shadow than the Los Angeles Lakers. Since the league’s inception, the Lakers have been the heartbeat of basketball’s most iconic moments. The legends, the championships, the drama—Los Angeles hasn’t just existed in NBA history; it has carried it. With every Lakers triumph, the league itself seems to move. When they thrive, basketball thrives.
From Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, the purple and gold have been home to giants. Even today, LeBron James continues that legacy, adding new chapters to a storied franchise. But every so often, the next great chapter doesn’t come from a lottery pick or a hyped-up phenom. Instead, it emerges from the least expected places—a story that doesn’t follow the rules, a story no scout predicted.
This is the story of Austin Reaves: how an internet meme became the face of the Los Angeles Lakers, and what his rise means for the future of the franchise and the league itself.
The Unlikeliest Debut
On October 22, 2021, the Lakers were looking to avoid another early-season defeat. The Staples Center was packed, not just with fans but with celebrities—Justin Bieber, Floyd Mayweather, and more. The atmosphere was electric, befitting a team whose lineup sounded like a Hall of Fame ceremony: LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo. Four legends with more accomplishments than some franchises have banners.
And then, there was Austin Reaves.
For Reaves, this was his NBA debut. He was undrafted, a kid from Newark, Arkansas—a town with barely a thousand people. He looked less like a professional athlete and more like someone who could star in Adam Sandler’s Waterboy 2 as the equipment manager. In fact, the Lakers’ own arena staff didn’t even recognize him as a player.
“I was dropped off at the top a couple times because I didn’t have a car yet,” Reaves recalled. “I was just trying to walk through to go down the ramp, and they would stop me and be like, ‘Uh, what’s your credentials? Do you work for the team?’”
Yet, there he was, wearing Lakers gold, standing under Hollywood’s brightest lights, sharing the court with players who had graced magazine covers before he even owned a cell phone. The internet was quick to react.
“The Lakers signed a PE teacher.”
“LeBron really hooping with a Best Buy employee.”
“Why does this dude look like he should be holding the Gatorade?”
Every clip, every angle, every possession Reaves touched turned into another meme. The more Lakers fans watched him, the more the jokes rolled in. But what started as a punchline soon became something much more.
The Meme Becomes a Moment
Reaves didn’t become a viral sensation overnight. The turning point came on December 15, 2021, in just his 17th NBA game. The Lakers, struggling to find their rhythm, were locked in a tight contest. The game went to overtime. The stars were all out there—LeBron, Westbrook, Anthony Davis. And then, in the clutch, with the clock winding down, the ball found its way into Austin Reaves’ hands.
No hesitation, no fear. Just a clean release. The ball sailed through the air, and Staples Center erupted. The rookie who looked like the team water boy had just hit the game-winner, while a lineup of Hall of Famers watched from the sidelines. No one could have predicted it. But within days, things got even crazier.
Late in a Lakers versus Brooklyn game, with the outcome already decided, the coaching staff told Reaves to “just chill in the corner.” Reaves, ever the rookie, decided to double-check. He walked up to LeBron and asked, “I’m just chilling in the corner, right?”
LeBron responded with a simple, “No, you’re good.”
What happened next poured gasoline on the Austin Reaves wildfire. Fans became obsessed. They needed to know everything about this kid. And then, they found the final piece—the detonation button. His college nickname was “Hillbilly Kobe.”
The internet exploded. People genuinely couldn’t believe that this baby-faced rookie, who looked like he took yearbook photos for a living, was not only hitting game-winners for the Lakers but doing it with a nickname that had the word “Kobe” in it. From that moment on, Austin Reaves wasn’t just a meme anymore. He became a phenomenon.
The Work Behind the Wonder
To the internet, “Hillbilly Kobe” was a joke, something to laugh at. But Austin Reaves never treated himself like one. Growing up on a small farm in Arkansas, Kobe Bryant wasn’t just his favorite player—he was the blueprint.
When Reaves learned about Kobe’s legendary practice routines, he didn’t just admire them. He copied them, word for word, rep for rep. While other players spent their off-seasons partying, Reaves was in the gym, putting up nearly 1,000 shots a day.
He knew exactly who he was—and who he wasn’t. He wasn’t the most athletic guy. He wasn’t flying through the air. So he trained like a scientist and a psychopath at the same time. Catch-and-shoot threes, movement threes, off-the-dribble threes. Then he added a whole new layer, learning how to manipulate contact, draw fouls, weaponize angles.
With his new head coach, JJ Redick, the work got even crazier. Reaves began studying film like a PhD student cramming for finals. Steve Nash’s pacing, Luka Doncic’s change of speeds, Manu Ginobili’s footwork, Redick’s off-ball movement, James Harden’s foul-drawing tricks. Most players get bored watching ten minutes of tape; Reaves was studying for hours.
Slowly, it started to show. His minutes went up. His responsibility went up. The meme started fading, and the player started emerging.
Earning Respect in the City of Stars
Reaves went from an internet punchline to a reliable rotation guy, and then to a full-time starter in Los Angeles—one of the toughest places on earth to earn respect. And then came the moment that changed everything: the playoffs.
The Lakers were in a tight battle with Memphis, clinging to a three-point lead. Out of nowhere, LeBron James—the face of basketball for nearly two decades—turned to Austin Reaves and said, “Come get the ball.”
“I forgot. I think D [Anthony Davis] might have got the rebound and he outletted it to Braun,” Reaves recounted. “Obviously, I’m going to run to the corner. LeBron’s got the ball. And I get to half court and I hear him yelling my name. He was like, ‘Come get the ball.’ I was like, ‘Oh.’”
Next possession, same thing. LeBron defers to Reaves. Think about that. LeBron James, even at age 38, still an All-NBA force, handing the keys to a kid the internet still called “Hillbilly Kobe.”
It wasn’t just that one game, either. More and more, it was Austin Reaves who had the ball in his hands late in the game—and the kid was starting to develop swagger, too.
“I really is that Austin,” Reaves said, referencing his confidence. “Does that surprise you at all? I think it surprised a lot.”
Before anyone realized what was happening, Reaves was quietly putting up 20 points a night on legit efficiency. For many, that seemed like his ceiling—a solid 20-point scorer. But what he’s doing this season, even his biggest supporters didn’t see coming.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
This season, a quarter of the way in, the list of the NBA’s top 20 scorers reads like a who’s who of basketball royalty. Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards. And sitting above them all at number seven: Austin Reaves.
28 points per game, on elite efficiency.
Let that sink in. He’s outscoring and outplaying guys with MVP votes, signature moments, playoff legacies. He’s not better than Kobe Bryant, but hear this: In Kobe’s entire career, he only had four seasons where he averaged more points than what Austin Reaves is putting up right now. And Reaves is doing it with better efficiency than Kobe ever reached.
The wildest part? People are starting to ask genuinely: Is Austin Reaves a top five offensive player in the NBA this season? And nobody is laughing. Nobody is pushing back. People are actually agreeing.
He was undrafted. He was a meme. But now he has his own shoe line, a global fan base, and a massive payday on the horizon. He’s got superstar highlight reels—the kind that make you sit back and say, “No way. This is the same guy who looked like an extra in a high school movie his rookie year.”
The Meaning of the Rise
Austin Reaves’ story is more than just a feel-good tale. It’s a blueprint for every kid who’s ever been doubted. For every player who didn’t get the scholarship, the draft call, the hype. It’s proof that what matters isn’t what people think of you, but what you believe you can become.
Reaves kept grinding. He kept showing up. He stacked the work, day after day, until good things started to happen. That dream that felt impossible wasn’t impossible—it was just waiting for him to catch up to it.
One day at a time, one week at a time, your whole life can shift. If a kid from a town of a thousand people can rise to this level, what excuse do any of us really have?
The Lakers’ New Chapter
For the Lakers, Reaves’ emergence is more than just a feel-good story. It’s a reminder of what makes the franchise special. The Lakers have always been about stars, but they’ve also been about stories. About players who rise from nowhere, who defy expectations, who become legends in their own right.
As Reaves continues to shine, the Lakers find themselves at the center of the NBA universe once again. The league moves when the Lakers move. And right now, it’s moving in a direction nobody saw coming.
Austin Reaves may have started as a meme, but he’s become the face of a new era—an era defined not just by talent, but by heart, hustle, and the relentless pursuit of greatness.
The shadow of the Lakers is long. But for the first time in a long time, it’s being cast by someone nobody saw coming. And that might just be the best story in basketball.
