When Austin Reaves met actor Will Ferrell, he got the perfect “welcome to the NBA” moment.

There may be no better way to discover whether or not you’ve officially “made it” as an athlete or celebrity than how Lakers guard Austin Reaves did. The 25-year-old, who is presently preparing for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2023, has been a hot issue since his great play during the 2022-23 NBA season, particularly a huge breakout in the playoffs.

Reaves recently spoke with Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Woike about a variety of issues, including his contract extension, joining Team USA, and, perhaps most importantly, a play-by-play of how he met actor Will Ferrell.

As Reaves stated, he ran across his favorite actor, Will Ferrell, at a charity event in Los Angeles. After confessing that he never asks for photos with anyone, Reaves revealed that when he met the Anchorman and Step Brothers actor, he was willing to do so.

Ferrell then completely twisted the script on him.

“This might be the only time in my life that I actually ask for a picture,” Reaves recalled. “And he’s just walking towards us, talking to people.” And when I went to introduce myself, he said, ‘”AUSTIN, I’m a huge fan.” And I had no idea what to say. ‘Uhhhhhhh,’ I thought. Me too.’”

Ferrell beat Reaves to the punch, and the Lakers guard got his “welcome to the NBA” moment as a result.