“You Justin Bieber”: Ex-NBA Star Questions Austin Reaves’ $56 Million Contract After Playoff Collapse

The Los Angeles Lakers lost their 10th straight game against the Denver Nuggets and Austin Reaves found himself at the receiving end. After a flurry of criticism of LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell after Game 1, the duo shut down the critics with a decent performance. However, 25-year-old Hill Billy Kobe got caught in the crossfire. And he also received a questionable comparison from former NBA star Rashad McCants.

In the latest episode of Gil’s Arena after the Nuggets-Lakers game, McCants was all over Reaves. The star dropped 9 points with a poor 4-11 FG in his 33-minute stay on the court. He not only took a dig at him but also questioned his recent 4-year contract extension worth $56 million. McCants said, “Where the hell is Lemon Daddy though… You worth the 50 they gave you I thought you was worth more than that, now I knew… You wasn’t going to be the ****** you thought you was.”

Rashad McCants referred to Austin Reaves as ‘Lemon Daddy’ because of his association with a law firm. In 2023, Reaves became the endorsement partner of an online legal advising platform called Lemon Daddy. Apart from referring to him with NSFW slang, he also compared him to pop star Justin Bieber. McCants added, “You Justin Bieber, you Justin.” 

There isn’t clarity on why the former Timberwolves star referred to Reaves as ‘JB’. It could have a different context as well. According to FastCompany.com, after mid-2015, likening someone to Justin Bieber was considered an insult and also involved derogatory remarks. However, in the case of McCants’ statements, no transparency was available about its true context.

Nevertheless, the star guard has a lot of work to do in the lab before setting foot on the Crypto.com arena. Apart from AR, the entire roster has a lot to prove against the Nuggets to clap back at the embarrassing 10-game streak.

Austin Reaves playoff stats

The star played his first-ever playoff in his sophomore year. The Lakers managed to reach the Western Conference Finals and had a 0-4 series sweep against the Nuggets. Even though Nikola Jokic & Co. dominated the LA men, Reaves had a decent series. In the four games, the star averaged 21.3 points and 5.3 assists, with a high of 23 points, which he scored twice. However, in this series, he managed to average only 11 points in 2 games.

Overall, in 18 games, he has generated an average of 16.2 points, which is slightly above his regular season’s average. Despite having an advantage over the numbers, the star still needs to turn up the heat on the court to shut down the critics.

Following the heartbreaking loss in Game 2, both Anthony Davis and LeBron James seemed extremely pissed at the post-game press conference. Jamal Murray dropped a fadeaway buzzer, beating the jumper to win the game. Especially when it came up against the team’s star defender, AD.

Two down in the series, the Lakers as a whole will bounce back with a series-deciding performance in Game 3 at LA. Will the Lakers break their losing streak? Let us know in the comments.