LeBron James made his return to the hardwood on Tuesday night after a 14-game absence due to sciatica, helping the Los Angeles Lakers take their 11th win of the new campaign, a 140-125 victory over the Utah Jazz. James had been working towards a return over the past week or so, with one of the most crucial parts of his recovery being an assignment with the South Bay Lakers — the team's G League affiliate.
James being in the G League was surreal considering how he's arguably the greatest basketball player to ever exist, thus spawning thousands of jokes on the internet. Austin Reaves has been one of those who's been joining in on the fun, and he once again poked fun at the fact that James' rehab process did include him spending some time in the NBA's minor leagues, so to speak.
“Pretty good G League player over there. … The G raised him,” Reaves hilariously remarked after the Lakers' win, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
The Lakers guard had already joked about James' G League assignment earlier; after their blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, a game that Bronny James started while his dad was with South Bay, Reaves pointed out how “awesome” it was to have Bronny starting and LeBron being in the G League.
Reaves has been on a tear when it comes to bantering with his teammates, which just goes to show how beloved of a teammate he truly is. He has even gotten the funny bone of Luka Doncic to tingle, with Doncic joking around with Reaves during the former's postgame interview with Spectrum SportsNet.
Protect him at all costs, Lakers.
Lakers' Austin Reaves is universally beloved — and for good reason
Reaves is such a good guy to have around the locker room, and he's one of the hardest workers on the Lakers squad as well, making him as close to being the perfect teammate as one can be.
There is no arrogance to Reaves, and he's always working hard on how to be better — hence his development from a hustle guy off the bench to one of the best scorers in the NBA. And it's his positivity and fun-having nature that has endeared him this much to both James and Doncic to the point that he can joke around with them without causing hurt feelings.
