In a successful12-year NBA career that featured an All-Star apperance and plenty of postseason games, Jeff Teague did not make a peep. Aside from a few postgame comments, Teague was rarely in the headlines and came off as quiet and reserved to many NBA fans. Those preconceived notions of Teague were false. The man NBA fans thought was the quietest in the locker room was actually the class clown of the every team he's been on.
"Well, I kind of made it like that. I hated talking to the media," Teague says. "I just kind of wanted to do my job and go home. In the locker room, everybody knew I joked all the time. I’m a clown naturally so I clowned in the locker room all the time. That’s why I got all these stories because I joke too much."
Teague has recently been a viral sensation on the internet with the rise of his podcast Club 520, featuring himself with his friends DJ Wells and Brandon Hendricks. Teague's storytelling ability has taken social media by storm with almost every episode featuring a story that has NBA fans rolling on the floor.
Teague and his friends never wanted to do a basketball podcast. In fact, their biggest inspiration to start their pod was The Joe Budden Podcast.
"His podcast is really why we started," Teague says. "We weren’t really based off basketball but obviously playing basketball my whole life, it always goes back to that."
We caught up with Teague to talk about his viral podcast, his James Harden vs. Dwyane Wade hot take, his back-and-forth with Tracy McGrady, and more.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
So why did you start podcasting?
It really started as a joke. I went on my friends’ podcast, the other two guys that I do it Brandon and DJ. They had a podcast years ago. I was home and I wasn’t gonna play ball no more. I was starting to scout and I just wanted to do something to kill the time.
You’ve been going viral every week. What has been like, seeing your name everywhere after every episode?
It’s cool to get the feedback from fans that watch the show. I try to get back in the comments and talk to the fans or people that are engaged in the conversation just to talk crazy. It’s been cool. All of this stuff was just organic though. We’ve been doing these conversations for a minute and them stories are not like stories that I plan out. It just happens during conversation.
To that point, you had the situation with Tracy McGrady, who said your story wasn’t true. Some, inclduing T-Mac might say you’re fabricating stories to go viral…
Nah because I ain’t never think that was going to go viral. We didn’t have that many people watching the show at first and I don’t got no reason to lie. I mean, I was a fan of T-Mac. I’m still a fan. It just happened.
There was a viral tweet the other day on this topic so I thought I’d ask you. Why are your stories always so negative?
It’s not negative. It’s just the truth. I just don’t take myself so serious. Like everybody else wants to say ‘oh I was the best player to do this, I was the best player to do that’ or ‘I worked so hard…’ and that’s cool. I did that too but I just don’t take it so serious. I played basketball and I loved it. I enjoyed it. It was my career. I was able to take care of my family but now when I look back on it, it was fun. I’m a clown naturally so I clowned in the locker room all the time. That’s why I got all these stories because I joke too much. That’s probably why people can say stuff to me and I don’t take it as offensive or nothing.
Like the T-Mac situation, does it matter to you how players feel about the stories you share?
Nah, I don’t try to tell anything that’s too revealing. I don’t think it made T-Mac look bad in a way. Everyone knows he’s a great player. He’s one the GOATs, he’s one of the premier two-guards but it was just a story with us. You meet somebody you idolized from afar and it was like ‘damn, I got to compete against this dude.’ It wasn’t no hate. I was just like the annoying little brother. I ain’t take it personal, I hope he didn’t.
I would love for T-Mac to come on the show. Even though he said that didn’t happen. I wouldn’t lie about getting punched in the stomach.
That would be fire.
I dm’ed him and he ain’t hit me back. (Laughs)
Is it crazy to you that people are just finding out you have personality?
Well, I kind of made it like that. I hated talking to the media. I just kind of wanted to do my job and go home. In the locker room, everybody knew I joked all the time. Everybody called me the clown of the team. My first two years, Mike Bibby was my vet and he used to tell me that the gym was my playground, he said ‘you like a little kid, this your playground.’ It kind of just carried over to my whole career. I just joke all day.
You hated media but now you are the media...
I hated talking to the media because they made it weird. Everything was always controversial. When I was in Minnesota, it’ll always be like does KAT like Jimmy? Does Jimmy like KAT? Does Wiggs like.. Whatever. I don’t get into that stuff. When I was in Atlanta, media was cool but when I got Minnesota, it really turned me off.
I saw the Bleacher Report re-posted your "Just got an A on the group project" quote after winning a championship in Milwaukee. What's your take on ring culture in general and people saying it's the be-all and end-all to evaluating a career?
To me, it's not. I have seen people work hard, who are great talents and great players who don't get a chance to win a ring. Not to discredit myself but I won a ring and like I said I got an A on the group project. That was Giannis. That was Jrue. That Khris. They was hoopin' and I was able to get a ring. I don't put too much stock in it. It's for the news. It's for the media.
That kinda goes back to your Harden over Wade point. A lot of people would say D-Wade is for sure better than Harden.
Listen, I’m biased to James because he was in my draft class and I played against him. I played against D-Wade too but I remember when James was James, he was giving you 30-8-11. Prime D-Wade gets you 36 and five then James had years where he averaged 34 or 36. It’s kind of crazy. I just don’t think people were putting enough respect on James. It feels like people are acting like I said D-Wade as a bum or something. D-Wade is a GOAT but I think James Harden is up there. He just don’t have the rings to show for it but rings don’t matter to me. When I go to the park, I see a little kid playing like James Harden. I don’t really see little kids playing like D-Wade. Not now.
So who are your top five shooting guards?
MJ. Kobe. James Harden. D-Wade. Maybe Ray Allen.
Speaking of rankings, we just dropped a best NBA player podcast list out right now. We got y’all top 10.
Top 10?!
Yeah.
I’m just happy we’re even mentioned. I watch everybody. I probably watch JJ Redick the most because he gives you good intel on everything. I like Paul George’s pod. Pat Bev is funny as hell though. Him and Draymond.
Do y’all wanna be No. 1 one day?
For sure. We competitive. We want to get the respect that All The Smoke and Knuckleheads get. We having fun though. Our podcast, we go everywhere. We talk about Michael Jackson, Usher, and of course we talk about sports.
Y’all haven’t had many guests. Any big names coming soon now that you’ve been going viral?
We got a couple guests lined up but we love to do the pod with just us sometimes to let people know, we don’t got to be guest driven. We got that from Joe Budden’s podcast. We love Joe’s podcast.
So Joe Budden is a big inspiration?
Yeah for sure. His podcast is really why we started. We weren’t really based off basketball but obviously playing basketball my whole life, it always goes back to that. We really based off Budden’s podcast and Gillie and those guys. We didn’t want to be guest driven but we got a lot of guests lined up.
You’re probably the best storyteller in the game right now. What's a defining moment in your NBA career?
Making the All-Star team. Being able to play in New York with LeBron and all them dudes and seeing all the famous people courtside. I’ll never forget that. My whole NBA career was blessing. I got millions and millions of stories. People always say I’m going to run out of stories… nah. I’m just getting started. These are just natural stories. I got millions of stories. It’s just all types of crazy stuff.
Even in that All-Star Weekend in NY, nothing crazy happened?
I mean it was -8 degrees the whole time but yea I got a real funny story about that. I’ll have to tell it one day on the podcast. I had a super funny story. I had celebrated a little too hard and I stopped recognizing people.
Come on now.
I’ll tell it one day. (Laughs)
