LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever play the game of basketball. Being an incredibly talented player, James had no issue in destroying his opponents when required.
Former NBA player Jeff Teague shared a story in episode five of ‘Club 520’ podcast about an intense exchange with the King. Teague was apparently challenged by James to score more points than him in a playoff game, and it didn’t end well for Jeff.
“We had a game, and I think I had gave Dellavedova like something crazy,” Teague revealed. “I was like, ‘It’s gonna be a long f*****g night.’ He [LeBron James] was like, ‘Can you score more than me n***a?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah.’ Bron [told him that]. I’m like, ‘Well, you’re gonna have to show me.’ I averaged 18 in that series, and Bron had like 38.”
Teague didn’t mention the exact game when the incident took place, but the story is most likely from the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals.
James and the Cavaliers swept Teague and the Hawks in four games. Teague averaged 21.5 PPG in the series, while James had 30.3 PPG. Kyrie Irving was sidelined in the series due to a knee injury, and Matthew Dellavedova was on the Cavs’ roster.
Teague vowed not to get swept by James next season, but the result was the same. The Cavaliers had a 4-0 win vs. the Hawks in the 2016 Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Jeff Teague’s Story About Playing The Best Defense Of His Career vs. Stephen Curry
Jeff Teague has had his fair share of encounters with modern NBA superstars. Apart from getting humbled by LeBron James, Jeff Teague also shared an interesting story about playing against Stephen Curry in China.
Teague shared how even playing the best defense of his career wasn’t enough to stop Curry from scoring more than 40 points.
“We went to China, we played KD, Steph. I swear to god I played the best defense, the hardest defense I ever played in my life,” Teague said. “There’s 100,000 people in the stands. I’m like, ‘F**k that, he ain’t about to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 me.’ I’ve never played this hard. Tibs came to me after the game and said that’s the best defense I ever played. Steph Curry had 44. He made every shot… I contested every one bro.”
It just shows the difference in s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s between the top stars in the NBA and the borderline All-Star players. At the end of the day, Teague still cherishes these stories and now shares them via podcast.
