LeBron James‘s greatness is unquestionable. Considered by many experts and fans as one of the greatest basketball players ever, he holds an impressive record in the playoffs, including 10 trips to the NBA finals and winning four championships.
That impressive feast has generated admiration and inspiration to younger generations of ballers, but it has also created negative feelings toward James, and one of his former opponents is the perfect example of it.
Jeff Teague played 12 seasons for 5 teams, including the Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves. He was an Ok player, averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 826 regular-season games. He was selected to play in 1 All-Star game, and won 1 NBA championship, with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Jeff Teague explains why he pushed LeBron James
Jeff Teague recalled during his “Club 520 Podcast” how he had to delete Instagram back in 2016 after receiving death threats via social media for pushing LeBron James into the stands during a postseason battle between the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Teague has become one of the funniest storytellers in the sports podcasting community. The many stories from his time in the NBA usually go viral, as was the case when he talked about the animadversion he felt for James due to the Los Angeles Lakers guard ability to beat Teague‘s team in the playoffs.
When speaking about Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green choking out Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, Teague explained why he pushed LeBron James.
“We was losin, I’m a sore loser,” Teague said. “I didn’t win a playoff game against that n—- ever. I was sick of that s–t. Fans in Atlanta were cheering for him, he was running down the court and I was like, ‘You know what, b***h, I got something for you’. I shoulder check the s**t out of that n—- … I got so much hate mail. … That’s when I first deleted Instagram.” Teague said.
Is it the beggining of the end for LeBron?
NBA fans were stunned and disappointed when LeBron James confirmed to reporters on Sunday that he would not play in the NBA’s All-Star Game. James, a 21-time All-Star selection who remains one of the top basketball players on the planet, told the media that he needed to rest and recover from multiple nagging injuries after playing in 48 of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 52 games to this point — but theories abound as to the real reason why James sat out in San Francisco.
James is not expected to speak further about his All-Star absence prior to the Lakers‘ next game, home to the struggling Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. That leaves it to fans and the basketball media ecosystem to parse the true meaning behind the 40-year-old’s refusal to play at the Chase Center.
Fox Analyst Nick Wright believes he has the answer to the questions James provoked by not playing in the All-Star Game. Speaking on the FOX Sports 1 program “First Things First”, Wright revealed his conviction that James is strategically using the All-Star Game absence as fuel to pursue his fifth NBA championship alongside new running mate Luka Doncic.
“I think it is a great sign for the Lakers’ chances that LeBron sat the All-Star Game out,” Wright said. “And by that, I mean he only does that if he actually believes, ‘We might win it. We could maybe win a championship.'”
Read the full article here
