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Austin 3:16 WWE taunts mock LA Lakers star after disastrous playoff shooting
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- Austin 3:16 WWE taunts mock LA Lakers star after disastrous playoff shooting
Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images
Austin Reaves had the kind of playoff shooting night that fans do not let disappear quietly.
The LA Lakers needed a reliable scoring option against the Oklahoma City Thunder , especially in a postseason game where every missed shot carried more weight.
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Instead, Reaves became the center of a brutal viral joke, and his final stat line created the perfect opening for NBA fans to bring WWE into the conversation.
Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images for Wendy's
Austin Reaves gets mocked after brutal playoff shooting night
As highlighted by Hater Report on X , Reaves finished with a disastrous shooting line.
He scored just eight points while going 3-of-16 from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point range.
That 18.8% field goal mark was the lowest by a Lakers player in a playoff game over the last 35 years among players with at least 15 shot attempts.
For a team depending on him to provide secondary scoring, it was a rough moment at the worst possible time.
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Why the Austin 3:16 WWE meme went viral
The joke came directly from Reaves' 3-of-16 shooting line.
Fans immediately connected "3-16" to "Austin 3:16," the legendary WWE phrase made famous by Stone Cold Steve Austin after the 1996 King of the Ring.
In wrestling, "Austin 3:16" became one of the most iconic catchphrases ever. In this case, fans twisted it into a taunt because Reaves' first name is Austin and his shooting line was 3-16.
The timing made it even harsher. The Lakers lost 108-90 to the Thunder, and Reaves' poor shooting quickly became one of the biggest talking points from the game.
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He also had four turnovers and finished minus-10, which only added to the criticism online. It was one of those playoff nights where the box score did not just hurt the team; it created a meme.
And for Reaves, "Austin 3:16" is the kind of joke fans will not forget unless he responds on the court quickly.
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