There’s a sense of pride involved here, so Malik Monk wants it spelled out clearly: It wasn’t Austin Reaves who beat him in the 2013 Arkansas 2A state championship final.
It was Spencer Reaves, his older brother, doing the bulk of the work.
“We were both ninth graders then,” Monk said of Austin, who was sitting in earshot after a Lakers practice as he offered his side of the past to a reporter. “But he didn’t contribute for sure. I want that spelled out.”
It’s a petty distinction, but even Reaves has to agree: While it was a good day for Cedar Ridge High, ending East Poinsett County’s run of three straight championships, he had very little to do with it.
“I think he scored 25 points in that game; I scored, like, three.” Reaves laughed. “But it’s always good to win the game. That’s the main goal, anyway.”
My newspaper @Cossey70 friend took this photo when Malik Monk @AhmadMonk (EPC)& Austin Reaves @reavesaustin31 (Cedar Ridge)where 9th graders in the state championship game. Classic photo for the man cave. pic.twitter.com/BBUMR4jcyD
— BP (@brianparrish86) February 26, 2021
That game — the only time the two Arkansas natives went head-to-head in their careers — is ancient history now. A photo of the two then-prep hoopers gained online traction after Monk and Reaves wound up on the Lakers roster this fall, of the young prodigy Monk shoving an elbow in the gut of a scrawny Reaves, who was a long way away from being any kind of well-regarded prospect at the time.
That fabled state title game may bring up old wounds now and then, but these days, the two 23-year-olds are defined more by what they have in common than the one time they met as adversaries.
For the Lakers, both young players have stepped up on a veteran, injury-stricken roster to play big minutes in the 3-3 start. Monk hit a go-ahead shot in Tuesday’s win over San Antonio near the end of regulation, while Reaves knocked in 7 points and wrestled for a pair of jump balls that showed his grit Friday against the Cavaliers.
Frank Vogel lauded both Friday, saying the Lakers “have a ton of confidence” in Monk, a fourth-year former lottery pick, and adding Reaves has been “outstanding for us on both sides of the ball.” But the biggest supporters of each player might be each other: Monk and Reaves have quickly bonded over their roots to tiny towns in the same football-crazed state that has produced more than its fair share of basketball legends.
“It’s not just that we both made it to the NBA; it’s that we play for the biggest organization ever to play the game,” Monk said. “I don’t think anything like this will ever happen again.”
The crux of the long odds: Reaves hails from Newark, while Monk was born in Lepanto — both have populations of fewer than 1,200 people, with only about 77 miles between them.
Reaves described Newark as “a no-stoplight town,” and his graduating class was about 50 people. When Monk transferred to Bentonville as a sophomore, a high school with a larger enrollment than Lepanto’s entire population (per the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette), he said: “I seen way more cars than I ever had seen in my life.”
It might be even more unlikely that both wound up on the hardwood instead of the gridiron or the diamond. Reaves had a birthright: Both of his parents played hoops at Arkansas State, with his mother Nicole Wilkett earning All-Conference honors as a senior. Spencer Reaves went on to play at Central Missouri and overseas in Germany. Austin really was following in the family footsteps.
Monk’s decision wasn’t really made for him. His brother, Marcus Monk, was a standout receiver who still holds the team touchdown record (27) for the Razorbacks. But in 2007 during what was supposed to be a non-contact practice, Monk was tackled by a teammate and needed surgery to repair his knee.
“That was when my momma told me to stop playing everything else (besides basketball), because he got hurt,” Malik Monk said. “You can’t not listen to your momma.”
Monk quickly caught steam in Arkansas, filling up Bentonville’s gym, and earning McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic invites. He was a sensation in his sole year at Kentucky, averaging nearly 20 points per game on his way to All-American status. When he was drafted No. 11 overall by Charlotte, he joined the ranks of Arkansas natives in the league, including Scottie Pippen, Derek Fisher, Mike Conley and Joe Johnson.
Reaves’ road to the NBA was much more slow-going. He won a state MVP as a senior, and his college career cut through Wichita State and Oklahoma as he gradually earned more and more esteem. But Monk always respected Reaves’ game, he said, and made a point to stay in contact and see him, especially when he rolled through Oklahoma City.
“I knew what he could do, especially when he got the ball in his hands more at Oklahoma,” he said. “I wasn’t really surprised. He’s super solid, and he don’t make that many mistakes.”
The Lakers have felt the same way so far about Reaves as a rookie, thrusting him into rotation minutes as injuries mount. Monk has also seen a larger-than-expected role, starting two games in place of LeBron James and providing a needed scoring punch from long range.
Off the court, they’ve been fast friends. They’re looking forward someday to getting together in their home state to ride on four-wheelers, or dress up in camo for a duck hunt — “typical Arkansas stuff,” Monk explained.
In the meantime, they’ve stopped ribbing each other about the past. The picture itself makes them both smile.
“It’s just looking back and seeing where we come from,” Reaves said. “We was even talking about it yesterday, two kids from small towns in Arkansas playing for the Lakers, and playing together at points during the game, reminiscing on those times and seeing how it’s special now.”
