In a span of less than 24 months, Austin Reaves went from an undrafted free agent originally from small-town Arkansas to a household name within the NBA.
He blossomed big time for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, and he played a key role in them reaching the Western Conference finals. He was then rewarded for his big season with a four-year contract and a spot on Team USA’s FIBA World Cup roster.
Reaves was also rumored to have hooked up with pop star Taylor Swift in June, although that rumor turned out to be bogus.
It turns out an employee of the Los Angeles Clippers, who actually happens to be a Lakers fan, started the rumor.
Via Fox Sports:
“Zain Fahimullah, a social media design associate for the Clippers, was about to board a flight home to Los Angeles after visiting his family in New York when he saw that Swift and The 1975 singer Matty Healy breaking up was trending on Twitter.
“He decided to pile on.
“He posted side-by-side photos of Swift and Reaves to his Twitter account, RefrigeratorLAL, writing, ‘Following her breakup, Taylor Swift was reportedly seen in an Arkansas Bar this weekend with star Laker basketball player Austin Reaves.'”
Fahimullah said he made the post on his burner account on X, formally known as Twitter.
“‘Since I’m working for the Clippers, I didn’t want to tweet it off my main, so I tweeted it off there,’ Fahimullah, a Lakers fan, told FOX Sports last week of his burner account.
“‘Austin is the trending boy, like the Lakers’ darling of the summer,’ he said, explaining his choice of Reaves. ‘He just signed this (four-year, $54 million) deal. He’s going to Team USA. Also, the contrast between Austin Reaves and Taylor Swift makes it even funnier. Austin being this small-town kid, like a farmer. And Taylor Swift being this mega-superstar. So, I think that’s why I chose him.'”
Reaves’ was amused at what transpired.
“Woooooooow,” he said, drawing the word out for a few seconds. “That’s crazy. That’s actually funny.”
As it turns out, Swift is reportedly in a relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce. Unlike with Reaves, there is actually empirical evidence to support the reports that Swift and Kelce are together.
On a serious note, this does show how easy it is for one to disseminate fake news or even conspiracy theories on social media. But for Lakers fans, this instance of such misuse of social media was fun for a minute.
