"Dion Waiters and Tim Hardaway Jr. vibes": Austin Reaves and Cam Thomas' 72-second sequence of trading buckets draws wild fan reactions

Third-year shooting guards Austin Reaves and Cam Thomas put on a third-quarter show during the LA Lakers’ preseason matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. This came as the two exchanged five straight 3-pointers in just over one minute of action. The unexpected back and forth then led NBA fans and basketball outlets to have some fun reacting to the highlights on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Some compared their scoring outburst to shooting guards Dion Waiters and Tim Hardaway Jr.’s surprising one-on-one battle in the 2014 Rising Stars Challenge. Hardaway famously finished with a game-high 36 points while Waiters tallied 31 points and seven assists that night.

“This back & forth sequence between Austin Reaves and Cam Thomas was giving Dion Waiters and Tim Hardaway Jr. vibes,” Kicks captioned the clip.

Meanwhile, others noted how satisfying it was to see Reaves and Thomas playing such high-quality basketball:

“This is true basketball,” one fan said.

Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to Reaves and Thomas’ preseason battle:

Who got the edge in Cam Thomas and Austin Reaves’ preseason battle?

Third-year shooting guards Austin Reaves and Cam Thomas

As for who got the final edge in Cam Thomas and Austin Reaves’ unexpected preseason battle, Thomas came out with the better final stat line. However, both players were extremely efficient in limited action.

Thomas finished with a game-high 26 points, two rebounds, two assists and four 3-pointers on 64.3% shooting in just 22 minutes. Meanwhile, Reaves finished with 18 points, two rebounds, two assists and four 3-pointers on 71.4% shooting in just 20 minutes.

In the end, Reaves’ Lakers ultimately emerged victorious by a final score of 129-126. However, wins and losses aren't too important in preseason. So, Reaves and Thomas' pure hooper battle will almost surely be fans' biggest takeaway from the game.