Jeff Teague Hails Kenny Atkinson For Predicting Stephen Curry and Other Superstars’ Rise

Teague is talking about the time when Kenny Atkinson was an assistant coach on the Atlanta Hawks. That time, the point guard justifiably would not believe his coach, as Curry was not the player back then. Once he started to make waves, Teague realized that Atkinson had seen it coming from a mile away.

Kenny Atkinson wanted Hawks to draft Giannis Antetokounmpo

Stephen Curry was not the only player who caught Kenny Atkinson’s eye. Back when he was with the Hawks, he had glowing praise for another player.

He told me he (Giannis Antetokounmpo) is going to be the best player in the NBA. He said, ‘I watched this kid dribble and throw a behind-the-back pass, I knew he was gonna be the best player in the league.’ He’s like, ‘We gotta trade up and get him.’ Kenny made me a believer.

Jeff Teague recalled

The Atlanta Hawks did not pay heed to Atkinson’s words and went on to select Dennis Schroder with the 17th pick. Giannis Antetokounmpo went two spots ahead to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Since then, he has amassed 2 league MVP awards, a Defensive Player of the Year award, 9 All-NBA and All-Star selections, along with the 2021 NBA title and the Finals MVP. More importantly, it is the dominant style of play that has many believing he is a different animal on the court.

Schroder, on the other hand, is a trade asset and has bounced around the league. He is about to play for his 10th team. On the other hand, Hawks fans will never know what could have been with the Greek Freak leading the charge.

Kenny Atkinson knew Nikola Jokic was destined for greatness

Kenny Atkinson’s list of understanding a player’s true worth goes on. After talking about the two superstars mentioned above, Jeff Teague’s Podcast co-hosts asked him about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ head coach’s opinion about Nikola Jokic.

Dude (Jokic) was coming off the bench. They were starting (Jusuf) Nurkic. He was like, ‘Man, it’s the kid on their bench 10 times better than Nurk.’ ‘I’m telling you Jeff he is the best player on the team.’ Then to see him become an MVP, Kenny bro.

Jeff Teague recalled

The 58-year-old’s talent for identifying future stars seems unparalleled. In 3 instances, he was right about players who ended up becoming some of the greatest to play the game.

Atkinson was right about them, and their combined 6 league MVPs and 6 NBA championships suggest teams were wrong to not have listened to him. Maybe the Cavaliers finally do, and their East-best dominance is a sign of things to come.