Lakers’ LeBron James Jokes If Austin Reaves or Michael Jordan Had Better ‘Flu Game’

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Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves was brilliant in Saturday’s 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers to help the Purple and Gold claim the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship.

The 25-year-old even played Saturday’s game despite feeling under the weather, and LeBron James joked after the win that Reaves may have had a better flu game than Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

“Who had the better flu game: AR or MJ,” James yelled to Reaves as he conducted his postgame interview with the media, per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha. “It’s up for debate!”

The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania reported prior to tipoff that Reaves had been “bedridden” while dealing with a non-COVID illness and that he was going to try to tough it out and play against the Pacers.

Despite the illness, Reaves ended up playing a critical role off the bench for the Lakers, finishing with 28 points, two rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes as L.A. claimed the inaugural NBA Cup.

Jordan famously dropped 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block while playing through flu-like symptoms in a pivotal Game 5 victory over the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals to help the Chicago Bulls take a 3-2 series lead.

“Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Jordan said at the time. “I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game.”

While Jordan’s performance was dubbed the “flu game,” he actually revealed during The Last Dance documentary that he had food poisoning from pizza he ate the night prior. He said he woke up in the middle of the night throwing up and was in bed all day before Game 5.

Jordan’s “flu game” still stands above the rest, but what Reaves was able to accomplish on Saturday night while feeling under the weather was still impressive. Without him, the Lakers may not have helped LeBron James win an In-Season Tournament championship that Jordan never did.

Reaves, who signed a four-year, $56 million deal with the Lakers during the offseason, has been invaluable for the Purple and Gold this season. He entered Saturday’s game averaging 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and 33.0 percent from deep.

While some may not understand the value of winning the in-season tournament, the victory was an important milestone for the Lakers as they aim to build some momentum and climb the Western Conference standings in hopes of preparing themselves for a run to the 2024 NBA Finals.

The Lakers will return to regular-season action on Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks. They sit fifth in the Western Conference with a 14-9 record. Saturday’s win did not count toward the regular-season standings.