This story is from May 23, 2025

Dwyane Wade once called LeBron James "cheap" - Here's how Austin Reeves responded

Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers is building his financial success. He admires LeBron James's approach to money. Reaves values smart spending habits. He avoids unnecessary expenses, unlike some others. James is known for his wise financial decisions. Dwayne Wade once joked about James being 'cheap'. Reaves seeks to emulate James's financial acumen for his own future.
Dwyane Wade once called LeBron James "cheap" - Here's how Austin Reeves responded
Austin Reeves and LeBron JamesImage via Getty Images
Austin Reaves is climbing the ladder of success with an incredible performance with the Los Angeles Lakers. When it comes to his financial portfolio, he has amassed a net worth of $4 million over the years. The up-and-coming athlete is known to manage money well and strays from unnecessary spendings. As a result, he does not own a lavish collection of cars or mansions. When asked about a teammate from Lakers who's financial advice he would take, he mentioned LeBron James. He also opened up about Dwayne Wade calling the sports legend 'cheap' when it came to unnecessary spendings. Austin Reaves takes inspiration from LeBron James's financial planningIn an interview with MarketWatch, Austin Reaves had opened up about how he takes inspiration from LeBron and his spending patterns. The interviewer asked him about the Lakers' teammate from whom he would take financial advice from. To this, he shared, "That’s an obvious answer. LeBron has done very, very well for him and his family. He’s very smart with his money, he’s not blowing money. He’s not cheap, but…" The interviewer then alluded to the time that Dwayne Wade had called LeBron cheap, to this he responded, "Ha, yes! He’s smart — he’s put himself in a lot of important rooms. If I had to ask anybody, I would definitely ask him."
Back in 2016, in an appearance at Kelly Ripa's show, Wade comically shared while speaking of LeBron, "He's a good tipper, but he won't use his cellphone without WiFi signals. This is no joke. He sends me a text before he leaves for the boat, because there won't be no WiFi signal out there." Wade and LeBron James attended Rachel Nichols interview where the statement made by Wade was addressed. To this James replied, "That is so, so, so, so false...ly true. That is so falsely true. I'm not turning on data roaming. I'm not buying no apps. I still got Pandora with commercials."Also Read: How NBA Legend LeBron James built his $1.2 billion net worth and became one of the richest athletes in the worldBusiness Insider once reported that LeBron James once rode a bike while attending a game in Miami. Additionally, he had denied paying for the blue tick when Elon Musk took over Twitter.
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