Austin Reaves’ girlfriend celebrating incredible Lakers playoff run
Reaves #Reaves
Lakers guard Austin Reaves’ girlfriend, Jenna Barber is enjoying the team’s playoff run.
When Los Angeles took a 3-1 lead over the Warriors on its way to ousting the reigning champions in the second-round playoff series, Barber was ecstatic.
“3-1 baby!!!! such a fun chapter in life,” she wrote in a Facebook post last week, which included photos of the celebratory scene at Crypto.com Arena during the Western Conference semifinals.
Barber, who attended the series with Reaves’ mother, Nicole Wilkett, sported a Lakers letterman jacket and Jordan brand sneakers.
The pair was all smiles in front of a lit Lakers sign and enjoyed purple and gold cupcakes.
Reaves and Barber — who are both Newark, Arkansas natives and attended Cedar Ridge High School — reportedly have been dating since 2014.
Barber graduated from the University of Arkansas and turned 22 in December, according to her Facebook page — which states she has worked at NewarkRx pharmacy since August 2019.
She also was a member of the sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi.
Barber, who has a twin sister Jordan, appears close with her family, whom she often posts about on Facebook.
It’s unclear if Barber will be in Denver for the Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday, when Reaves’ first-ever NBA post-season run continues.
The 24-year-old guard was dubbed a hero for the Lakers during their first-round playoffs series against the Grizzlies.
Reaves — who joined the Lakers as an undrafted free agent on a two-way contract in 2021 — scored 23 points in a Game 1 win over the Grizzlies.
He scored nine consecutive points in the fourth quarter and was seen screaming “I’m him” on the court while pointing to himself in a now-viral video.
Lakers superstar LeBron James had high praise for Reaves after his first career playoff game.
“It’s not surprising to me,” James told reporters after Game 1 of the Grizzlies series. “I knew from the first practice that we had that he wasn’t gonna be a two-way player for long.
“… I’ve been around the game long enough to know great basketball IQ players and I know the type of players that fit my game and I knew Austin [Reaves] would be that right away.”
Reaves also earned himself the hero nickname in March, when he scored 25 points and 11 assists to notch his first double-double of the season in a win over the Suns.
He signed a standard contract with the Lakers in September.
The second-year player, who is set to become a restricted free agent in the offseason, has been a solid role player for the Lakers, who started the season 2-10.
Now, they’re on the brink of their first trip back to the NBA Finals since they won it all in the 2020 NBA bubble season.
The Lakers face the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals, beginning Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.