When the Atlanta Hawks first announced a special “Magic City Monday” night celebrating Magic City — one of Atlanta’s most well-known nightlife spots — the idea instantly caught a lot of people’s attention. Anyone who knows the city’s culture, or has even spent even time in ATL while playing for the Hawks, understands just how iconic that place is.
However, the latest update revealed that the event has been canceled, leading Jeff Teague to call out Luke Kornet as one of the first players to criticize the promotion, making it clear that the venture meant far more than the Spurs’ center could comprehend.
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Teague sounds off on Kornet
Kornet rarely finds himself in the headlines for off-court matters and is generally viewed as one of the league’s quieter and more diligent backup centers. However, Luke drew attention when he publicly questioned the NBA’s intent to allow such a promotion, stating that the league should focus on protecting women rather than partnering with venues associated with adult entertainment.
The Spurs’ big man also raised concerns about the league’s standards, particularly given that NBA arenas host fans of all ages, including minors and teenagers. On March 9th, the Hawks announced that, after speaking with Commissioner Adam Silver, the promotion scheduled for March 16th has been canceled. Teague did not hold back after hearing the news.
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Given that the event was to be hosted when the Orlando Magic were coming to town, Teague questioned Kornet’s intent to raise concerns when he wasn’t even playing. Moreover, Jeff made sure to let Luke know that, for anyone who knows Atlanta, Magic City isn’t just a strip club but a place with more cultural value than any other place in the city.
From being featured in music videos of some of the greatest rappers to being highlighted in the STARZ docuseries “Magic City: An American Fantasy,” the strip club is one place every adult is advised to visit when in the city.
“It’s a culture thing. It’s bigger than women,” Teague said on his “Club 520” podcast. “It’s a staple in the city. It’s grown way past the dancers and all that s—t. It’s the food, the environment, people go there to make deals.”
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Magic City deserved that honor
Although players like Luke Kornet and Al Horford weren’t comfortable with the promotion, Teague’s main point was that the league today is as much about entertainment as it is about basketball. Put simply, from his perspective, the NBA constantly tries new kinds of promotions, and none of them should be automatically looked down upon.
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Now that we know the importance of Magic City to Atlanta’s culture and how quickly tickets for the events sold out, it shows that many Hawks fans were actually excited to see something like that happen. Clearly, Teague, who has spent a considerable amount of his NBA career in ATL, wanted Kornet to understand that culture means different things to different people, and given how unaware he was, he shouldn’t have spoken out in the first place.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.