Lakers guard Austin Reaves had a challenging return to Oklahoma during the first two playoff games against the Thunder, struggling in Game 1 but improving in Game 2.
Key points
Austin Reaves is a guard for the Lakers.
He returned to Oklahoma for the playoff series against the Thunder.
Reaves struggled in Game 1 but improved in Game 2.
He has strong ties to the Oklahoma area from his college days.
The journey home is supposed to feel warm, familiar and forgiving. For Lakers guard Austin Reaves, it felt anything but during the teamâs first two playoff games of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Lakersâ second-round matchup with the Thunder was supposed to be a full-circle moment for Reaves. Born and raised in Newark, Ark. â population 1,000 â Reaves played most of his college ball at nearby Norman, where he sharpened his game at the University of Oklahoma, just a 20-minute drive from OKC.
The Lakersâ Austin Reaves struggled in Game 1 but played better in Game 2. NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakersâ Austin Reaves struggled in Game 1 but played better in Game 2. NBAE via Getty Images
So for Games 1 and 2 of this series, Reaves had a plethora of friends, family and familiar faces make the drive from Arkansas or Norman to watch the kid they used to call âHillbilly Kobeâ back on the playoff stage.
But for Reaves, his homecoming did not get off to a good start. Game 1 was a collapse you could feel happening in real time. Reaves missed shots he normally buries in his sleep. By the end of the night, he scored eight points on 3-of-16 shooting, 0-for-5 from deep. His 18.8 FG% was the lowest in Lakersâ playoff history by a player with at least 15 attempts.
Q&A
How did Austin Reaves perform in the Lakers' playoff games against the Thunder?
Austin Reaves struggled in Game 1 but showed improvement in Game 2 of the playoff series.
What is Austin Reaves' connection to Oklahoma?
Austin Reaves was born in Newark, Arkansas, and played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma, located near Oklahoma City.
What was the significance of the Lakers' matchup with the Thunder for Austin Reaves?
The matchup was significant for Reaves as it represented a full-circle moment, returning to a region where he has strong ties.
What were the outcomes of the Lakers' playoff games against the Thunder?
The Lakers faced the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, with Reaves' performance varying between the two games.
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âI had a lot of people here,â Reaves said after the game. âWhen you donât play well, it sucks.â
The weight of his historically bad performance lingered into Game 2, but it didnât break him. Reaves has built a career on something he calls his âdelusional confidence.â Heâs had it since he was a kid, and itâs allowed him to believe in himself when nobody else does.
In Game 2, he used that delusional confidence to come out firing, dropping a playoff career-high 31 points. But even that bounce-back performance came with a cost. Reaves had five turnovers and several confrontations with officials that spilled into a postgame spat that went viral.
âHe turned around and just yelled in my face ⊠I just thought that was disrespectful,â a visibly frustrated Reaves said after the game. âWeâre grown men. If I did that first, I wouldâve gotten a tech.â
The game itself unraveled in a similar fashion. A five-point Lakers lead midway through the third quarter dissolved into a 22-4 Thunder run that was fueled by whistles and free throws. A historically awful officiating crew called 10 fouls on the Lakers, handing 14 free throws to the Thunder during a particularly bad stretch that saw them miss several obvious calls. Reaves found himself caught in the storm.
When the dust settled, the first two games for Reaves and the Lakers were back-to-back 18-point losses and a 2-0 series deficit.. And a âhomecomingâ that never quite felt like home.
âNot really,â Reaves told The California Post when asked if Oklahoma still carries that meaning.
Reaves scored a game-high 31 points in Game 2. NBAE via Getty Images
Reaves scored a game-high 31 points in Game 2. NBAE via Getty Images
He hasnât lived there since 2021. Life moved on. Heâs been in Los Angeles for five years now, and in the offseason he returns home to Arkansas to stay with family and play golf. So Oklahoma, at this point, means something else to him entirely. Another stop on the NBAâs grueling 82-game schedule. A memory.
Now that the series has shifted to Hollywood, where the noise is different, the faces less familiar, but the expectations just as heavy. The Lakers need production if they want to extend this series.
They need Austin Reaves.
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