Charles Barkley admits he loves Austin Reaves, but made it clear to never again compare him to NBA legend, Larry Bird.
On Wednesday night, the Hall of Famer went off on an expletive-filled rant after he saw a clip from the Pistons broadcast team, comparing Reaves to Bird after he made an impressive shot during the Lakers’ 121-116 victory on Sunday night.
“I was watching the Detroit Pistons against the Lakers the other night, and some idiot, or some fool, or jackass, thought it would be appropriate to compare Austin Reaves to Larry Bird,” Barkley said. “Y’all put together a team and said, ‘Who does Austin Reaves remind me of?’ and y’all put together a video clip of Austin Reaves.”
“I love Austin Reaves. Don’t compare him to Larry Bird ever. Under no damn circumstances.”
Barkley doubled down on his take and said he loves Reaves, but “Do not ever do that again.”
“Yeah, they’re both white. That’s it. That’s the only thing they have in common. Nothing else,” Barkley said.
While Barkley revealed his true feelings for Reaves, the Lakers guard was the star on Sunday.
The team has grown accustomed to Luka Dončić scoring 40+ points in a game, but as the Lakers were without the early MVP candidate, Reaves stole the spotlight.
Aside from yelling at a Pistons fan’s face, Reaves put together a 43-point performance, where he was 4-for-6 from the three-point line, shot 51.9% from the field, and 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Aside from scoring in abundance, Reaves also had five rebounds and four assists.
Reaves is starting to develop into the player the Lakers knew he could become, and is starting to look like he was worth every penny the team gave him after he signed a four-year, $185 million contract during the offseason.
