​Fresh off re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, Austin Reaves found a welcome respite this weekend on the golf course, taking part in the American Century Championship. The game offered a rare moment of calm after a period when even the links felt stressful for a player who thrives on competition but suddenly faced a different kind of pressure: the whirlwind of NBA free agency. Reaves, one of the league’s most coveted young stars, admitted that the free-agent frenzy had him tethered to his phone, often for hours on end. “I was on the phone with my agents probably five, six, seven hours a day” during the peak of the market, he revealed in an NBC Sports interview conducted during Sunday’s final round. The constant communication, though, intruded on his golf experience. “It was kind of annoying because it was interrupting my golf,” Reaves said. “But I did play one full round with them on the phone, and I just put them on speaker. I’d throw [the phone] on the ground and hit and pick it up and keep talking.”
The Lakers’ acquisition of Reaves to a four-year, $185 million contract, a figure that marks the richest deal ever signed by an undrafted player, served as a major storyline in NBA circles. The 28-year-old from Arkansas has long balanced life as a professional athlete with a passion for golf. Off the court, Reaves has built a name as a golf content creator, launching the “Hillbilly Bogey” brand with his friend Trent Swaim. The concept, a playful nod to his nickname from his high school basketball days—“Hillbilly Kobe”—has grown into a small but dedicated venture, including a YouTube channel centered on the “Hillbilly Bogey” persona. Reaves described the project as something they started “to have fun with it” and to document the many hours they spend playing golf together.
Reaves joked that his first day at the American Century Championship yielded so many bogeys that he contemplated retiring the “Hillbilly Bogey” hat, a bit of humor that underscored his lighthearted approach to the sport. Yet even amid the playful banter, the mood was more relaxed than during the prior months of NBA decision-making. With uncertainty behind him, Reaves appeared to settle into a more enjoyable rhythm on the course. “It’s been good,” he said of his golf experience during the tournament week. “I haven’t hit it the way I wanted to all week, but it’s good to be out here. My brother’s on the bag. It’s good to see all the fans and just have fun.”
Throughout the 2023-24 season and into this summer, Reaves has continued to be a focal point for the Lakers, and his return on a marquee contract only amplified the attention surrounding his evolving role on the team. The free-agent period had one effect that was easy to notice: it briefly interrupted his focus on golf, but it also provided a dramatic backdrop that made his time on the course feel like a welcome relief—a chance to recharge, reconnect with teammates and supporters, and simply enjoy the sport he loves. Reaves’ experience at the American Century Championship, with his brother joining him on the bag and fans cheering from the sidelines, offered a snapshot of a player who is as comfortable in this golf setting as he is on the hardwood. And as the season progresses and his contract settles into place, Reaves appears poised to bring both his on-court energy and off-court personality to the Lakers for years to come.