Jeff Teague has been known to try and rewrite his own version of NBA history on his podcast. He’s kept the engagement going by saying some outlandish things, which is what keeps fan interest, regardless if they agree or disagree. His latest story about Larry Bird and LeBron James might be his most controversial narrative yet.
In a May episode of his “530 In The Morning” podcast Jeff Teague says former Indiana Pacers executive and Hall of Famer Larry Bird had one rule when building a team: NEVER sign players that played with LeBron James.
According to Teague he had a conversation with Larry Legend.
“We was chilling and he was talking about how good LeBron was,” Teague said. Then he said he asked Bird if LeBron was better than him.
Teague says Bird told him, “LeBron is the greatest player ever besides Michael (Jordan).
Then Bird said:
“I will never pay anybody that played with LeBron. I would never pick them up on my team.”
Teague: “I said, ‘Why?'”
“He said, ‘Because he make them all look good. They’re all really sad’.”
“You go get them, and then they’re not going to be the same player you wanted.”
This is a wild statement, considering there is a track record of the opposite happening. LeBron played on the Cleveland Cavs early in his career and it’s fair to say he didn’t play with any comparable talents. But eventually, he left to form a Big Three in Miami.
Dwyane Wade Led Miami Heat To Championship In 2006
Dwyane Wade was already an NBA champion and franchise player who carried Shaq to a championship. Wade averaged 34.7 points per game in the 2006 NBA Finals. Down 0-2 to the Dallas Mavericks with Shaq running on E, Wade’s 42-point Game 3 gem sparked the Heat to four straight wins and a championship.
Chris Bosh Carried Toronto Raptors Franchise With Five Straight All-Star Appearances
Chris Bosh was a perennial All-Star with Toronto before joining LeBron’s Heatles. He was selected to the All-Star team for five consecutive seasons from 2006 to 2010 before joining the Miami Heat. Both players’ games actually fell off while playing with LeBron. Both, however, had to carry him across the finish line a couple of times during those two titles in four seasons. LeBron didn’t make either of those guys better. They actually scaled back their games to accommodate him as the No. 1 option. Both players are future Hall of Famers and neither were ever sorry.
Kevin Love & Kyrie Irving Were Franchise Players Prior To LeBron
When he went back to Cleveland he brought in Kevin Love, a walking double-double, who carried the Timberwolves for years and was a three-time All-star prior to joining LeBron and becoming a one-dimensional player. Kyrie Irving was the man in Cleveland prior to LeBron coming back and if not for his incredible playoff performances, the 3-1 comeback against thge 73-9 Warriors that Bron gets credit for would have never happened.
LeBron Also Won Bubble Chip With AD, Dwight Howard & Rajon Rondo
When Bron joined the Lakers and won the Bubble Championship he played with a Top 75 player in Anthony Davis as well as an aging but effective Dwight Howard (Hall of Famer) and Rajon Rondo, who won a championship with Boston back in 2008. Let’s not forget he played with post-peak Ray Allen, who was already a champion before breaking up Boston’s Big Three, by defecting to Miami and daving Bron’s bacon with one of the most iconic shots in NBA finals history.
It’s a wild narrative because most fans would tell you that playing with LeBron James has somewhat damaged the careers and legacies of some players. Even those who won championships with him always had to sacrifice their overall game to fit into his system. It worked four out of 10 times in the Finals, but does that prove what Bird supposedly said? No one would categorize that as a smashing success. And the only way one can make 4-6 in NBA finals look better than the numbers say is to downplay the talent he has around him. That’s all narrative shaping, which is the function of these brands of sports podcasts.
Fans React To Jeff Teague’s Conversation wIth Larry Bird About Why He Doesn’t Sign Guys Who Played With LeBron
“This narrative is hilarious Nobody ever looked better or increased their stats playing with bron.. THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. Delevedova is the only player to get a bigger contract after the fact,” one fan commented on X.
“Jr smith n shump played well on Knicks and nuggets. Kyrie has been balling. Wade won a title before teaming up with LeBron. Kevin Love balled before LeBron. Bosh. Caruso. KCP. List goes on,” another user commented.
The dispute of Teague and allegedly Brid’s narrative continued.
“This is a lie,” one netizen insisted. “Lebron forces guys into roles that often stifle them. This is just trash analysis and d- riding.”
One fan entered the comment section with a list of players LeBron played with who are far from “sorry.”
More click bait takes from Jeff Teague (we are still waiting on Bird to confirm this story), proving once again that having played in the NBA definitely doesn’t make you knowledgeable about personnel. He’s probably trying to make up for the time he said LeBron was on steroids. That didn’t hit too well.
RELATED: ‘He Was Legit On Steroids For Real’: Did Jeff Teague Take It Too Far With LeBron James PED Talk?
Larry Bird Never Won Title As Coach Or Executive
And with all due respect to Larry Bird, he was ironically always a player short of a championship as a coach and executive.
Bird coached for three seasons with the Indiana Pacers, leading the team to the Eastern Conference Finals every year and making the NBA Finals in 2000. He won NBA Coach of the Year in his first season (1997–98). Then he was President of Basketball Operations (2003–2012), (2013–2017). He was the final decision-maker on all moves and was lauded for drafting Paul George and Danny Granger, winning NBA Executive of the Year for the 2011-12 season.
Maybe Bird’s philosophy about not signing players who played with LeBron wasn’t exactly how Teague put it, because if Teague is accurate then we can also assume that’s why Bird could never build a team that could get to the promised land.
