"Easy!"- Jeff Teague, who made $98,000,000 from NBA contracts, explains why he'd prefer max money over championship rings
Jeff Teague was an important part of several NBA teams over his career, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Atlanta Hawks.
Teague earned $98,000,000 over his career from NBA contracts, but he was never considered the best of the best. While fans want players to put winning first, it seems that Teague had a somewhat different motive for playing the game.
On a recent episode of the "Club 520 Podcast," Teague asked the question:
"Would you rather have a championship or a max contract?"
When the group answered "max contract," Teague was quick to say:
"Easy! I hate when dudes be talking about this like 'I just wanna f***ing win.' No, I just wanna get paid."
[Jeff Teague Podcast] Would you rather have a championship or a max contract? https://t.co/2RyO4IJELL
"I wanna lose so I get the max. I would be on a losing team and average 20 and get a max deal than like 'F*** man, yhey need to trade me, I'm tryna win.' F*** all that s**t. Get Paid."
As a basketball fan, this is a tough pill to swallow. Some fans prefer college basketball to the NBA for this reason. College basketball players often play for pride and to win, rather than NBA players who are sometimes more interested in money.
As for Jeff Teague, he is a one-time NBA champion, which he won in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks. In that season, he averaged 6.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game on 46.9% shooting from the floor, but was hurt just before the playoffs began.
He did play in the Finals though. and averaged 1.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.5 steals in 9.3 minutes per game as a backup point guard.
It is great that Teague did what he could for the Bucks to win. However, it is saddening to see that winning wasn't the priority for Teague, who seemed to vibe with how Carmelo Anthony went about his career.
Teague cited his reason to chase money over winning as this:
"Because when you done playing, ain't nobody gonna remember if you won a championship."
Why did Jeff Teague retire from the NBA?
Jeff Teague's final season in the NBA was the 2020-2021 season with the Milwaukee Bucks. Right before the playoffs started in 2021, Teague suffered a left knee sprain. As per reports, he needed microfracture surgery to repair his knee cartilage.
Teague spoke to reporters following his retirement:
“In my mind, I was not a basketball player anymore. I’m done playing. I’m not having microfracture surgery. I would have had to restrict for several months. I thought, ‘I can’t do that.'"
Jeff Teague is now a head coach in Indiana for Pike boys. He also makes a lot of people laugh with his sense of humor and personality on the "Club 520 Podcast."