NBA – Former All-Star sounds off on Wolves: «I went out whenever they would lose»

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

Having played over 800 games during his NBA stint, Jeff Teague has had a long and successful career on the league’s courts. The point guard, who notably played for the Timberwolves, nevertheless held a long-standing grudge against them…

Even though the conference finals seemed to play out similarly to last year’s, with them currently losing 3-1 to Oklahoma City, the Minnesota players have managed to put a smile on their fans’ faces over the past few seasons. Rudy Gobert and company finished among the NBA’s top four again, and they don’t seem to be missing much to reach the Finals in the future.

Quite the different perspective from the 2010s, a very difficult period for the franchise. The most spiteful tongues would say that they accumulated as many first picks ind the draft as they did wins, notably having Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns at this position within twelve months of each other. It was towards the end of this very dark era that Jeff Teague settled there.

Jeff Teague and his deep hatred of the Timberwolves

Off to a good start to his career, even being elected an All-Star with the Hawks, the point guard then spent a year with the Pacers before landing with the Wolves, for whom he would play nearly 150 regular-season games. However, it wasn’t a good experience, according to him, with Teague even developing a fierce hatred for his former team. The retired player spoke about this in his podcast:

Literally, they use analytics for everything. I got traded for shooting a mid-range jumper. So I came into the locker room and we’re down going into the half and I had to shoot it because the shot clock was on. I shot a mid-range jump shot and I actually made it. I was having a decent game and going into the locker room, you kinda hear people yelling, “He just doesn’t want to buy in. Imma get his a** out of here.”

I’m like, “What the f**k is he talking about”… (The Coach) was like, “Man, you shooting these floaters and these mid-range shots, like step behind the line and shoot the three.'”They was like, “We gotta get you the f**k out of here”.

A speech that obviously won’t please anyone who’s been subjected to it. Teague ended up being released by Minnesota during the 2019-20 season, with its management sending him to… Atlanta, the franchise that had seen him break through on the NBA courts.

Unsurprisingly, the point guard still has a bitter taste in his mouth from this experience, readily admitting that he had long rejoiced in the face of the franchise’s struggles:

I used to just hope that Minnesota lose every f***ing game. Every time Minnesota lost, I just went out and had a great time.