Jeff Teague says Darius Garland and De’Aaron Fox retired him

Published by

Peter Dewey

3 years ago

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Former NBA guard Jeff Teague shared that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland and Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox caused him to retire.

Teague last played in the NBA during the 2020-21 season. He spent that season with the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks and ended up winning an NBA title with Milwaukee.

A one-time All-Star, Teague had a very solid NBA career, but he clearly believes that he wasn’t able to handle young guards like Garland and Fox in the latter stages of his NBA journey.

Garland, who was an All-Star in the 2021-22 season, is one of the main reasons why the Cavs made the playoffs in the 2022-23 season as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The former lottery pick averaged 21.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 41.0 percent from beyond the arc.

It’s no surprise that Teague had a hard time guarding Garland, as even Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green referred to Garland as one of the toughest players to guard in the NBA back in 2021.

“Darius Garland actually,” Green said when asked about the toughest players to guard. “And I know that’s probably an unpopular opinion. That kid is so fast, so herky-jerky and he can shoot the ball. When he really figures out how good he truly is.

“I hate getting switched onto him. It’s rough getting switched onto Darius Garland.”

Garland has only improved since then, which is a great sign for the future of the Cavs organization.

Fox, who had his best season in the NBA in the 2022-23 campaign, earning a nod to an All-NBA team, has always been known for his elite speed.

The lefty certainly made Teague aware of that speed during his final seasons in the NBA, but he’s taken things to another level since then.

In the 2022-23 season, Fox helped the Kings earn the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference while averaging 25.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. He also shot a career-high 51.2 percent from the field and earned the first All-Star Game nod of his career.

Teague is probably thankful that he went out as an NBA champion and didn’t have to spend more time defending these two rising stars at the guard position the past two seasons.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.