Back in 2012, when star Lakers guard Austin Reaves was a mere 14 years old, he took to Facebook to crack a joke about now-current Los Angeles Lakers teammate LeBron James.
Naturally, whenever someone such as Reaves starts seeing some major success, a predictable and unfortunate go-to move is for fans and media alike to dive into that person's social media history to look for any goodies to share.
To Reaves' credit, the crack about King James was pretty freaking creative and hilarious. And it's made even funnier when you take into account that Reaves, who eventually became an undrafted Lakers guard, was barely in high school at the time.
So Reaves — being a huge Kobe Bryant fan and with LeBron busy crushing it with the Miami Heat — had this to say about James, who had no NBA championship rings at the time:
Austin Reaves posting this on Facebook in 2012 and now LeBron is his teammate ? pic.twitter.com/wdIZ8zT6Nk
— PointsBet: A Fanatics Experience (@PointsBetFBG) March 13, 2023
"When I need some peace and quiet I set my phone to LeBron mode, no ring," the meme Reaves posted read.
But that's not even the best part. Once it was discovered, Reaves knew he had to address it with LeBron directly. Talk about an awkward moment in having to approach one of the greatest players in NBA history to tell them your 14-year-old self was once mocking his ring-less status.
On Tuesday's episode of "The Ryen Russillo Podcast," Reaves — who's already made a major impact for the Lakers in just two seasons — discussed how it all went down.
?I was just like ?S---, I?m gonna get in trouble for this one.??
Last season, a 2012 post from Austin Reaves poking fun at LeBron resurfaced. He spoke with @ryenarussillo about how he handled it in the locker room. ? pic.twitter.com/sTxWJR3T5o
— The Ringer (@ringer) October 24, 2023
"I was a big Kobe fan. So like for a long time, like, I wasn't the biggest Bron fan. And like, me and him had a conversation about it. Because there was a post that came out the middle of last year when we were in New Orleans. And it was a Facebook post that I posted from 2012, and it was like, 'When I need some sleep, I put my phone to LeBron mode. No rings' or something.' And I was like, 'S—-, I'm gonna get into trouble for this one.'"
Reaves continued:
"SportsCenter posted it on Instagram and I just pulled up my phone and it was the first thing I seen. And I was just like, 'S—-.' I gotta man up, I gotta call him over here and tell him.'"
After proceeding to tell LeBron he had had been "s———g" on him back in 2012, LeBron simply laughed and all was forgiven right there on the spot. But none of that should really come as surprise, as King James has clearly appreciated Reaves' contributions as a teammate and has publicly shown major support since the 25-year-old first entered the league two years ago.
A-R you so COLD man!!! ???? #TeamUSA??
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 8, 2023
Who would have ever guessed that Reaves, a relatively quiet player who goes about his business, would house such a great sense of humor?
Ironically enough, the 2012 season would be the one when LeBron James and the Heat would finally break through and win an NBA title together, just one year removed from taking a heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals.
