What do NBA players do in their spare time? One answer to that question is golf: Michael Jordan famously liked golfing. Nowadays, several players golf on their off-days, and with the number of active NBA golfers today and the sheer competitiveness of athletes, they must have created some ranking of the top golfers in the league. So, the NBA recently asked New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson his choices of Top 2 NBA golfers, and his picks might surprise you: Stephen Curry and Austin Reaves.
“I’m gonna say Steph, for sure,” the Knicks guard said. “Everyone just knows Steph’s the GOAT for sure. He can do no wrong.” After asking teammate Josh Hart who else golfs in the NBA, Brunson added, “Austin Reaves! Steph, Austin Reaves, and whoever you wanna put third.”
Jalen Brunson’s pick makes a lot of sense given what the Warriors star and the Lakers swingman have done on the golf course in recent years. While most NBA players golf to take their mind off basketball, Curry and Reaves might take it as seriously as their day jobs.
In 2023, Stephen Curry won the American Century Championship in a typically electrifying fashion, sinking an eagle in the 18th hole. Likewise, Austin Reaves debuted on the ACC in 2024, his professional debut after carding a 76 in a Korn Ferry Tour qualifying event.
However, Brunson’s ranking of NBA golfers means the Warriors legend is a scarily good athlete who can win in any sport. That doesn’t mean, though, that Reaves is a slouch on the court.
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The undrafted guard bet on himself in 2021, declining the Detroit Pistons’ offer to draft him at No. 42 and choosing to sign a two-way deal with the Lakers. Upon signing a standard NBA deal before the 2021-2022 season, he quickly became one of the bright spots of a dismal season for the Purple and Gold, who’d gambled away nearly all their assets in the trade for Russell Westbrook.
Perhaps learning from the Westbrook debacle, the Lakers have refused to trade Reaves in pursuit of marquee players, despite their activity on the market leading to the acquisitions of D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Jarred Vanderbilt.
One of the reasons for his value with the team is his quality as a playoff riser, like other NBA golfers Stephen Curry and Jalen Brunson. In 21 playoff games, he averaged 16.9 points on shooting splits of 46.7% from the field and 40.4% from three. Reaves was one of the main contributors to the Lakers’ advance to the Conference Finals in 2023.
Despite another disheartening playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets in 2024, Reaves believes the Lakers can win a championship with their roster, even though fans might disagree. The Lakers are definitely still a good, if flawed, team, and LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain among the top duos in the NBA. However, their issues with defense, rebounding, and late-game execution might send Reaves and company back to the golf course in May.
