Austin Reaves made an appearance on BustaJack Golf recently, where he was asked to share his all-time starting five. With Reaves being a Los Angeles Lakers fan growing up, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to find out that their icons dominate his lineup.
"Steph (Curry), MJ (Michael Jordan), Kobe (Bryant), Bron (LeBron James), Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal)," Reaves said.
Even with the Lakers bias, that is quite an impressive starting five. All of them have won multiple championships and are regarded as some of the very best players to have ever played in the NBA.
Stephen Curry was the first name Reaves mentioned and he has won four titles, a Finals MVP, two MVPs, and two scoring titles. Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history and has made a strong case to be regarded as the greatest point guard of all time as well.
Michael Jordan was next and he won six titles, six Finals MVPs, five MVPs, a DPOY, and 10 scoring titles. Jordan is still widely considered to be the greatest ever and, in my opinion, should be a lock to make any all-time team.
Reaves then went with Kobe Bryant, who was his idol. Bryant won five titles, two Finals MVPs, an MVP, and two scoring titles in his career. Kobe was the closest thing we had seen to Jordan in terms of style of play and some believe he eclipsed the Chicago Bulls icon as well.
Someone else who people believe has eclipsed Jordan was Reaves' next selection, LeBron James. LeBron has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, a scoring title, and an assists title so far. Reaves would be hoping he can help James add to that ring tally in his final years in the league.
James and Bryant's former teammate Shaquille O'Neal was the one who took the last spot. O'Neal won four titles, three Finals MVPs, an MVP, and two scoring titles during his time in the NBA.
Those are some stellar resumes and it's safe to say none of them are out of place there. Reaves then revealed, though, that if he were running a team, there'd be one change he'd make.
"But if I'm running a team, I'm going Steph, Kobe, KD (Kevin Durant), Bron, Shaq," Reaves stated. "All y'all old heads just relax bro. No disrespect... I can't put something that I literally have no knowledge about. At least I know about Jordan, Magic (Johnson)."
It is quite interesting that Reaves would remove Jordan for Kevin Durant if he was running a team. I think Durant might well be a better fit on this team as he isn't ball-dominant and can play within the flow of an offense. Jordan wouldn't be the one I'd remove for him, though, as Bryant would be the one who'd have to make way.
As for Reaves himself, he is unlikely ever to find himself in these conversations but there's no shame in that. He looks set to have a long and productive career in the NBA and that's quite impressive, considering he went undrafted in 2021. Reaves averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game last season and is looking to take another leap in 2024-25.
