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Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr prevented Austin Reaves from using the popular "Freeze" celebration during his tenure at Team USA this summer. Fans are not happy with Kerr's decision to ban the harmless celebration that was used by the LA Lakers against the Warriors in the playoffs.
In a pregame interview before the Lakers-Warriors preseason game on Friday, Reaves shared that Kerr was not fond of the "freeze" celebration. It seems a friendly banter between the two, as Reaves was still able to pull it off in Team USA's win over Italy at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
"Yeah, we talked about it," Reaves said. "The celebration that Dennis (Schroder) brought to the team, the freeze. He told me. He was like, 'You cannot do that at the USA.' He was like, 'I seen it too many times in the playoffs, and I'm sick of seeing it.'"
NBA fans on social reacted to Austin Reaves' confession about Steve Kerr's dislike for the "Freeze" celebration. The four-time champion coach was put on blast by fans, who thought that he was being petty.
One fan said:
"Let it be known, Steve Kerr is a hater."
Another fan cannot believe Kerr would hold a grudge against a celebration:
"Kerr still bothered by the L, I see."
Another went deeper and called out Kerr for his coaching of Team USA at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, where they finished in fourth:
"He also outlawed them playing team defense and winning by refusing to play the best 2 guards in Haliburton and Reaves lol. Mf lost coaching if he don't have Steph at the point."
Here are other reactions to Steve Kerr banning Austin Reaves from using the "Freeze" celebration:
Austin Reaves on his relationship with Steve Kerr
In the same pregame interview, Austin Reaves opened up about his relationship with Steve Kerr. Despite what happened in the playoffs last season, Reaves loved learning under Kerr and even discussed their Western Conference semifinals matchup.
"We talked about the series and how the series went," Reaves said. "Obviously, he's a great basketball mind, so I wanted to pick his brain on things he seen in the series that we did good, that we didn't do good. I had to kindly remind him that we won a couple times."
