"He looked like he was trying too hard" - Jeff Teague disses Kobe Bryant's style of scoring, ranks Melo and KD above him aesthetically
While Kobe Bryant is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, Jeff Teague wasn't a fan of his game from a viewership side. Despite the fact that Bryant's hard-nosed style of play with an emphasis on the midrange shot was reminiscent of Michael Jordan, Teague doesn't think it holds up compared to players like Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
He made the stunning admission on Friday's episode of the Club 520 podcast, where he explained why he didn't like watching Kobe Bryant play. It's unclear if Teague was talking specifically about Bryant later in his career once he developed a midrange game, or whether he also wasn't a fan of the 'Fro-be' years.
As he explained, there are other players who make scoring look much more effortless that he preferred to watch rather than the Black Mamba himself. Players like Kevin Durant, who made scoring look effortless with their size, grace, and finesse caught his eye while Bryant was a workhorse who fought for buckets.
"I ain't gonna lie, no share or nothing like no disrespect but I never like watching Kobe Bryant play, ... he wasn't my type of- I knew he was cold, I know he was a killer, but I ain't never like watching him play like all his s**t seemed like he was trying too hard like it didn't come easy.
"He scored easy but like all his moves was like- ... when you watch KD and Melo it just look graceful like this s**t just too easy."
You can see his comments above starting at the 30-second mark of the video.
"LeBron looked like... unreal" - Jeff Teague goes further into detail about why he didn't like watching Kobe Bryant play while discussing LeBron James and Kevin Durant
Kobe Bryant's style of play notably evolved throughout his career. After entering the league as a young prospect fresh out of high school, Bryant relied on his athleticism early on.
With unparalleled athleticism, Kobe Bryant didn't need to develop the finer points of his game like triple-threat moves until later in his career. The way Jeff Teague sees things, Bryant's precise, analytical play wasn't as entertaining to watch as an effortless scorer such as Kevin Durant.
Of course, Teague also notably spoke about LeBron James in addition to Durant while explaining why despite respecting Kobe Bryant, he didn't like watching him play.
"LeBron looked like... unreal. Like 'I'm just so strong I'm so much bigger than y'all,' Kobe's was like excellent, it was great footwork and stuff, but it's just like- everything was precise. ... KD just be like shoot over you this is light it's just different."
In the comments section of the video, several fans seemed to agree with Teague, including self-identified Kobe fans. As many pointed out, however, the fact that Bryant worked for every point rather than having physical advantages like LeBron or KD is what made them fans of his style of play.