[McMenamin] Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves looks to shed ‘AR-15,’ ‘Hillbilly Kobe’ nicknames

Lakers guard Austin Reaves is open to a new nickname.

During a surprisingly successful rookie season in which Reaves went from being an undrafted prospect, to a two-way designation, to signing a two-year contract and becoming a starter, he picked up a couple of monikers from the Laker faithful: “AR-15” and “Hillbilly Kobe.”

Reaves would be OK distancing himself from both.

“I don't condone any gun violence that happens around our country,” Reaves told ESPN. “But you can't really control what [nickname] people give you. I mean, I didn’t come out and say my name was that. There's been others, like the ‘Hillbilly Kobe,’ that probably aren’s the best thing in the situation that’s going on, with Kobe’s passing.”

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