Austin Reaves Makes His Case in Debate About LeBron James Lakers Statue

While Austin Reaves continues to build on his own rapidly growing popularity as a member of the Lakers this offseason, he’ll take center stage with Team USA at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup ahead of the new NBA season.

But before that gets underway, Reaves sat down with SI’s Robin Lundberg to discuss a number of topics, including the guard’s decision to join Team USA, his takeaways from the team and also the outlook for the Lakers in 2023 and beyond. One interesting topic that was brought up by Lundberg during the discussion was the debate over whether LeBron James should have a statue in Los Angeles when he retires.

In the eyes of Reaves, it’s a no-brainer.

“Yeah, why not? He came to L.A. at a time when they weren’t having much success, and what was it? 2-3 years, he put a banner in the rafters, so why not?” Reaves told SI. “In my opinion, he’s the greatest player to ever play the game.”

Here’s a look at the full interview between Reaves and Lundberg ahead of Team USA kicking off the FIBA World Cup, which will take place from August 25 to September 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.