Jeff Teague is convinced the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks squad would beat this year’s Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder put together an impressive franchise-record 68 win regular season, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the newly crowned MVP.
And in the playoffs, it is becoming clear that Gilgeous-Alexander alone isn’t the sole reason for OKC’s supremacy.
Beyond two other stars in Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, the Thunder boast a top-notch supporting cast of Lu Dort, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, and Cason Wallace.
The Thunder are on the cusp of finally reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012, leading 3-1 in the Conference Finals.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesJeff Teague boldly claims his ’14-15 Hawks will beat OKC
Despite the success of this OKC squad, Jeff Teague believes that he and his former Atlanta Hawks team were better.
Teague was a prominent member of the 2014-15 Hawks. They had a remarkable year as he, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, and Kyle Korver were named All-Stars, leading to a huge 60-win season.
Unfortunately, they got swept by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After recently praising Gilgeous-Alexander for “saving the NBA” by reviving mid-range shots, Teague boldly claimed that he and the Hawks can easily deal with the crafty, yet polarizing offensive play of the OKC star and ultimately beat the Thunder.
“We definitely would have won a chip this year,” Teague said. “We played like them. [Gilgeous-Alexander] ain’t like [LeBron James].
“That matchup, SGA versus our team, I’m cool with that. The thing we couldn’t do: ‘Bron was 6-foot-8, 260lbs. We just couldn’t [defend him]. We had no size for him. Like, a guard like [SGA]? We had seen them.
“No disrespect to SGA, but John Wall and them were doing the same. Not to the same magnitude, but we had played them.
“James Harden was doing that. We had played all them dudes that were killing, getting 30 [points] a game. We had beat Isaiah [Thomas]. We had swept Joe Johnson. All of them, we had seen that. We hadn’t seen ‘Bron. He was getting 35, but it was a 35 we couldn’t do anything with. He was too big. He was bigger than our power forward.
“Al Horford and [Isaiah] Hartenstein? What the f—, Hartenstein?”
Teague believes OKC would lose to John Wall-led Wizards
Additionally, Teague argued that the Washington Wizards of the time led by John Wall and Bradley Beal were better than Gilgeous-Alexander and OKC.
“I’m telling you the truth, the Wizards were better than them, bro. Yes they were,” Teague stated.
“Y’all just looking at what’s today. John Wall had the same kind of aggressiveness as SGA, bro. He was hell to guard. Bradley Beal was averaging 25. Paul Pierce was still killing, bro. … Marcin Gortat was better than f—– Hartenstein. What are we talking about?”
“Think about Golden State with Klay too, bro, they would murder this team. Not even with KD. Not even with KD. … We would smack these ——.”
Teague further said: “The reason they’re a good team is because the league is down, bro. We just watched the Celtics shoot 73 threes and then say, ‘We ain’t changing nothing.’”
Old heads claiming they could beat a particular player or team in the current era is nothing new in basketball discussions.
But at the end of the day, we should appreciate and enjoy the ongoing magical run of this big-time season for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder.