Austin Reaves already knew what it meant to play next to LeBron James. The passes are different. The expectations are different. The cameras are different. But apparently, even Reaves was not fully prepared for what happens when LeBron turns you into content.
Reaves recently said his social media following exploded after James posted the now-famous viral clip of LeBron “coaching” him during a game. According to Reaves, his follower count jumped from around 60,000 to around 7 million after the post took off. The story resurfaced as Reaves and LeBron looked back on the moment together, with Reaves joking about how quickly his phone started blowing up once the clip hit the internet.
Austin Reaves says his followers jumped from 60K to 7 million after LeBron posted that viral clip of him “coaching” him during a game 😭
(h/t @0xRuzy ) pic.twitter.com/bgmN1r4Wht
— NBARetweet (@RTNBA) June 13, 2026
That is the LeBron effect in its purest form. One minute you are a young guard trying to find your place with the Lakers. The next minute, the most visible basketball player on the planet posts a clip of you, the algorithm catches fire, and suddenly your phone sounds like a casino slot machine.
