Draymond Green didn’t turn any heads after being selected 35th overall in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft. However, people close to him soon realized that Green was cut from a different cloth. His mindset separated him from the rest of the field and empowered him to slowly establish his place as a core member of the Golden State Warriors dynasty. Former NBA veteran Jeff Teague revealed a while ago how he was shocked by a rookie Draymond Green’s audacious trash-talking during the 2012-2013 season.
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Former Atlanta Hawks star Jeff Teague has been entertaining his fans with intriguing stories of the NBA on the Club 520 podcast. The 35-year-old once talked about a 22-year-old Draymond Green bringing up his $2,433,077 salary to shut him down during an episode of the podcast. Teague had exercised the $2,433,077 player option in his rookie contract in 2011, which kicked in during the 2012-13 season.
Draymond Green shocked Jeff Teague with his trash-talking during the 2012-13 season
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have revealed on different occasions that Draymond Green’s supreme self-confidence made him stand out from a lot of different people. Green’s strong belief in his abilities assured others to believe in him as well. However, that strong sense of self-belief and confidence often manifested in the former Michigan State Spartan talking trash to his peers.
Then Atlanta player Jeff Teague experienced Green’s trash-talking sitting on the Hawks’ bench. In this YouTube Shorts clip from the Club 520 podcast, Teague can be seen recounting his experience, “I said something to him [Green], I was on the bench. That n_ came over to the bench and said, ‘Shut your a** up. You got all that money n_.‘”
“He said something about me, I can’t remember…but it was funny as hell. He was on the court and I started laughing. My teammates started laughing as well,” the 2015 All-Star added.
Teague was earning $2,433,077 from his player option that season, as mentioned earlier. He couldn’t help but laugh at the joke. Green’s humor, along with his ice-cold mindset, makes him so endearing to a lot of his peers in the NBA.
Teague is no stranger to trash-talking
Jeff Teague was no pushover during his stint in the league. In fact, the 2021 NBA Champion has a history of talking trash to his opponents, including the likes of LeBron James.
Teague accepted King James’ challenge to a scoring contest after an initial round of trash-talking during the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals. The 6 ft 3″ guard even reprimanded Stephen Curry once for his out-of-pocket celebrations in China. Therefore, he was also able to appreciate the humor in Green talking trash to him as a rookie.
