Getting a nickname in the NBA often means you’ve endeared yourself to basketball fans and your fellow teammates.
That being said, Lakers guard Austin Reaves isn’t too happy with the nicknames he’s been given.
Earlier this year, the second-year pro said he’s not a huge fan of the nicknames “AR-15” and “Hillbilly Kobe.” He cited the recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas and Kobe Bryant’s passing as reasons why he doesn’t want these nicknames to stick.
“I don’t condone any gun violence that happens around our country,” he said in an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “But you can’t really control what [nickname] people give you. I mean, I didn’t come out and say my name was that. There’s been others, like the ‘Hillbilly Kobe,’ that probably aren’t the best thing in the situation that’s going on, with Kobe’s passing.”
While Reaves has made his stance on the matter very clear, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green thinks the 24-year-old guard should embrace these nicknames.
“He’s trying to shed two nicknames. And it’s like brother, you have not done enough in your career to be trying to shed nicknames that people gave you,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “You should take those nicknames and try to run with them.”
“Hillbilly Kobe is lit… That sh*t is fire,” former Laker Kyle Kuzma added.
Reaves said he’s willing to accept other nicknames.
“I’m always open to new ideas,” he added. “Because there is always another one that might stick and could be better than another one that was previous. So I’m always open to new things and for people to really open up their brains and kind of think of new things for me. That stuff helps us out too in branding situations and stuff like that.”
What do you think of Reaves’ nickname refusal?