Austin Reaves is having the full experience of being at the center of attention during his current stint with Team USA in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. After being adored for his play in the early goings of the tournament in Manila, Reaves is now getting the wrath of social media following his underwhelming play in the United States' 110-104 loss to Lithuania on Sunday. Such is the roller-coaster life of the Los Angeles Lakers star these days.
Enter Austin Reaves' brother, Spencer Reaves, who has come to the defense of his sibling amid the flood of criticisms.
“People really had “Austin Reaves sucks” tweets just waiting in the drafts for a bad game 😂😂,” Spencer posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
Austin Reaves struggled against Lithuania, particularly on defense where he was repeatedly hunted and targeted. That led to Steve Kerr deciding to have a shorter leash on Reaves, who played in only a little under 13 minutes. He finished with seven points on 1-for-4 shooting from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. It was the lowest-scoring game for Reaves so far in the tournament, though, that was also the fewest time he spent on the floor through the first five games of the Americans.
The good news for Reaves and Team USA is that they pretty much still control their fate in Manila. They still made it to the quarterfinals, where they will have to forget their debacle against Lithuania as they face Italy this Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.