LeBron James has lofty praise for new Lakers teammate

One new Los Angeles Laker has LeBron James throwing on his Davy Jones wig and singing “I’m A Believer.”

James had high praise for Lakers rookie Austin Reaves after Thursday’s preseason loss to the Sacramento Kings. The 22-year-old guard filled up the stat sheet with five points, five rebounds, and seven assists off the bench.

“He’s an NBA player,” James said of Reaves, per Lakers reporter Mike Trudell. “He can play at this level. I watched a lot of film on him when we [signed] him. His size, shot making ability, passing. High IQ kid, and he has a lot of dog in him.”

Reaves, who recently went from a two-way contract to a standard contract with the Lakers, is now getting an opportunity to strut his stuff. The team has suffered injuries to Wayne Ellington, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and others, opening up more playing time in the backcourt.

The former Oklahoma star Reaves already has plenty of meme potential. Now it definitely looks like he has the game to back it up as well.

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Photo: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports