Austin Reaves joins Sports Illustrated on behalf of USA Basketball to talk about what it means for him to join the team, how Anthony Edwards could be in the MVP talks, and what he looks forward to next season with the Lakers.
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00:00 Training camp has begun for USA Basketball.
00:02 They've got a showcase exhibition series
00:04 starting on August 7th against Puerto Rico.
00:07 And then they play in the FIBA World Cup
00:09 with the first game on August 26th.
00:11 I'm Robin Lundberg here with a member of Team USA
00:14 and the Los Angeles Lakers, Austin Reeves.
00:16 And Austin, I've seen all the photos and videos
00:19 of you putting on that jersey earlier.
00:22 Going from being undrafted to Team USA,
00:26 what was that feeling like putting that jersey on?
00:29 It felt special.
00:30 I thought you were going to mention my beard,
00:32 that I had my horrible beard.
00:34 But no, I mean, like you said, going undrafted
00:38 and then having the opportunity to, like you said,
00:42 put that jersey on.
00:44 And I was asked earlier today, why did I choose to play?
00:49 And once I got the opportunity and the call
00:53 and the invite to come, it was an opportunity
00:56 that I couldn't pass up.
00:59 And I grew up watching the USA teams.
01:01 I watched the documentaries and everything.
01:04 So it was a no-brainer for me.
01:06 Yeah, ball don't lie, as they say.
01:08 So from undrafted to Team USA to All-Star,
01:10 that's a fair path?
01:12 I mean, if that happens, it happens.
01:15 But I mean, I've been quoted saying this a million times.
01:19 And I don't think it'll ever change.
01:21 And it's really winning.
01:22 I want to win a championship.
01:24 I want to win a gold medal.
01:25 I want to win.
01:27 And that's really, since day one of my life, growing up,
01:31 my brother used to beat me in everything.
01:33 We would play ping pong.
01:34 We would play cards.
01:35 We would play video games.
01:36 Like, I could never beat him.
01:38 He's two years older than me.
01:40 But then I finally started getting a little success.
01:43 And the taste of that, just winning,
01:46 is really the main thing that, in my opinion,
01:50 everybody should care about.
01:51 And all the accolades that come after that is kind of bonus.
01:54 Obviously, you've already been on the floor
01:56 with some great players.
01:57 But having been out there at practice now,
02:00 is there anybody on this team that you
02:01 think is just going to wow people
02:03 with how good they actually are?
02:05 I think the first one that comes to mind is Anthony Edwards.
02:08 I think just his ability to do everything.
02:13 You know, honestly, I think he can guard one through five.
02:16 He's really strong.
02:17 And he just continues to get better.
02:19 Could you see Ant-Man as, like, an MVP candidate next season?
02:22 I could see it in his future for sure.
02:23 You think the Lakers are a championship-level team?
02:26 Going into the next season?
02:27 I do.
02:28 I do.
02:29 I'm super excited with what we brought back
02:33 and then what we got after that.
02:36 I feel like we brought back a core that basically,
02:40 after the trade deadline, made a push.
02:42 We obviously made it to the Western Conference Finals
02:44 and got beat by the champs.
02:46 But every game that we played in that series, we was in.
02:50 And one thing or another, it could have turned.
02:54 It could have been a lot different.
02:55 But-- and then putting new pieces around that.
02:58 You know, Gabe Vincent just went to the finals.
03:00 Jackson Hayes allowed AD to kind of go back to the four
03:04 and play bigger.
03:06 But super excited with what we have.
03:08 You know, as far as LeBron and his Lakers career,
03:11 I saw he's going to get his jersey retired.
03:13 There's been some debate about a statue.
03:15 Are you in favor of a LeBron statue?
03:18 Yeah, why not?
03:20 You know, he come to LA at a time
03:23 where he wasn't having much success.
03:25 And what was it, two, three years?
03:28 You know, he put a banner in the rafters.
03:30 So why not?
03:31 I mean, in my opinion, he's the greatest player
03:34 to ever play the game.
03:36 I don't think you can really--
03:38 you can argue it for sure.
03:39 I mean, because there's been some really good players.
03:41 But you know, I've always said that you
03:44 could name the best person at everything, scoring, rebounding,
03:47 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
03:49 And you could argue that Bron can compete at the top,
03:52 you know, in all those categories.
03:54 So yeah, why not?
03:56 What post should the statue be in, the one where he's
03:58 looking at you side-eyed?
04:00 Oh, I mean, why not?
04:01 Throw me in there, too.
04:04 No, I mean, probably him dunking something.
04:08 (upbeat music)