Lakers’ Austin Reaves Recalls When Security Didn’t Realize He Was an NBA Player

“Right before I got to the bench, I was about to sit down, security, like, grabbed me.”

Lakers guard Austin Reaves is enjoying another strong season, fresh off signing a four-year, $53.8 million contract during the offseason.

Although he’s now one of the more recognizable figures in the NBA, that wasn’t always the case for the Newark, Ark. native. 

During a sitdown with Michelle Beadle on FanDuel TV’s Run it Back, Reaves shared an anecdote about a game against the Nets, when stadium security at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center grabbed him as he was heading to the bench because they didn’t realize he was a player.

“We were in Brooklyn, I don’t know if it was my rookie year or last year,” Reaves explained. “I was injured at the time and before the game I was getting treatment, it was running a little bit into the first quarter, maybe the second quarter… Right before I got to the bench, I was about to sit down, security, like, grabbed me.

“I was like ‘Woah, what are you doing?’” added Reaves. “First person I seen was AD [Anthony Davis], and he just busts out laughing like, ‘Yo, he’s a player.’”

Reaves also added that he’d been stopped at the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena on a few occasions, citing a time when he didn’t have a car and was dropped off at the stadium, prompting security to ask if he worked for the team.

Now in his third season in the pros, the 25-year-old hopefully doesn’t run into such issues any longer. Reaves has featured in 23 games for L.A. this year, including eight starts, and has averaged a career-high 14.1 points per game.