Even if the series made less noise than that of Paolo Banchero, Austin Reaves was also approached by a foreign selection this season. In this case, Germany, the United States’ opponent on Thursday afternoon.
Holder of a German passport, the Lakers’ latest find spoke with Gordon Herbert, the Germany coach, and he announced “that he was ready” to take the plunge. At the Lakers, in fact, the Germans had Dennis Schroder on a daily basis to convince him to follow through on his ideas.
“Dennis asked me throughout the year if I could play for the German team in the future, and I was open to the idea”, confirms Austin Reaves. “I told him frankly that I wasn’t going to play this summer because I wanted to rest. We had a long season and it was my first playoffs. And then an opportunity presented itself with the United States. »
Clearly, Austin Reaves never imagined wearing the American jersey, hence his interest in the German selection, and Grant Hill’s phone call therefore made him change his mind.
“Dennis was the first person I texted. I told him I had this opportunity and I couldn’t turn it down.”Austin Reaves continued. “I just wanted to inform him before everything was revealed.” Obviously, he was very supportive, congratulating me and all that. If the opportunity hadn’t presented itself, this was arguably something that could have happened in the future. »
