Lakers Star Pushes Back on Deandre Ayton Narrative – ‘It’s Been Completely Opposite’

After the Lakers’ 119-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, Reaves spoke to The Athletic’s Dan Woike. During the interview, the undrafted guard had high praise for Deandre Ayton.

“We need the best version of him for us to be as good as we can be,” Reaves said. “If he’s that, then we can be a really good team… But for us to be what we want to be, we need him to be the best version of himself every game.

“It’s unfortunate that the world works this way, that you hear things about people before you’re around ’em, that people try to paint a narrative of character,” he continued. “The best thing you could do is … you have to be your own judge of character towards people these days. The things that you hear, the things that I heard about him, was that he wasn’t coachable, moody, and it’s been completely opposite.”

Deandre Ayton listens to the noise

In the age of social media, players are aware of the talk about them. When Deandre Ayton signed with the Lakers, there were talks about him having his last chance to prove himself. Before the team’s contest against the Bucks, Ayton made it known that he’s aware of what the critics said about him.

“They said this my last chance,” he yelled over the part in the song when Bobby Hatfield sings “I need your love.

“Might as well leave it on the line,” he said.

Ayton has been a significant part of LA’s success. Over the past two games, he’s had back-to-back 20 points. His continued aggressiveness on offense has been beneficial for the Lakers, helping them to a 10-4 record.