Christmas Games Proved LeBron James and Stephen Curry Don’t ‘Run The NBA’ Anymore, says Ex-Champion

Former NBA player Jeff Teague believes that it is no longer LeBron James, Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant's league anymore.

Christmas Games Proved LeBron James and Stephen Curry Don’t ‘Run The NBA’ Anymore, says Ex-Champion

Jeff Teague on the end of LeBron James and Stephen Curry era (Image credits - Firstsportz)

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Former NBA champion with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, Jeff Teague, believes that the NBA has finally moved on from LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. The three legends of the game have cemented themselves as some of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball. They have been the face of the league for over 15 years now.

While they still remain active and have dominant performances from time to time, the NBA has seen a shift lately. On Christmas day, LeBron James and Kevin Durant went head-to-head for the umpteenth time in their careers and ‘KD’ came out on top with a lopsided victory.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to win over the Dallas Mavericks and improved their record to 16-15 for the season. But the game that stole the show on the big day was the Denver Nuggets going up against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Nuggets came out on top in a very closely contested match in which the team from Denver hung on to a 142-138 victory over the Timberwolves at the Ball Arena. Not only was the match entertaining, the two superstars on either team showed up and put on a show for the fans.

Before the game, Anthony Edwards was being his usual self and said he would definitely score 30 points and maybe even 40 points. He backed up his words as he went on to score a team-high 44 points. Unfortunately for the Timberwolves guard, Nikola Jokic decided to have a historic performance on Thursday night.

The Serbian center earned another triple-double for the season and recorded 56 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists. Jeff Teague is known for his wild takes and statements sometimes. But after the end of the Christmas day fixtures, Teague believed that a new era has begun in the NBA on his Club520 podcast.

It showed me changing of the guards. It’s safe to say Jokic, Wemby, and Ant are taking over the league, which isn’t a bad thing. It is supposed to go that way.

Jeff Teague via Club520 podcast

The trio of James, Curry and Durant are not the players they once were. As such, it is natural for the younger ones to step up and take their place. It also shows that the league is in safe hands moving forward.

Fans react to Jeff Teague’s statements on the end of LeBron James’ and Stephen Curry’s eras

NBA fans were quick to jump in and share their opinions of who they believe are the future of the league on the internet.

Although many fans agreed on the sentiment, some felt that Teague left out key players like Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson. Meanwhile, some fans pointed out that Nikola Jokic took over the league a couple of years ago from aforementioned legends.

Nikola Jokic on taking his game to the next level

Nikola Jokic may have dropped arguably the greatest performance on Christmas day in NBA history. The Joker has been the best player in the NBA for a while now. He is undoubtedly the greatest draft steal in NBA history.

Nikola Jokic is still the best overall player in the NBA
Nikola Jokic is still the best overall player in the NBA (Image via Triple 333/X)

After winning three-league MVP awards in the last five years, it is hard to imagine that Jokic would be able to take his game to another level at the age of 30. The Nuggets center is once again the frontrunner for league-MVP this season and would join an elite list of players to win four or more MVPs. It turns out that only five players have done it before.

Speaking to the media after the game, the Serbian superstar had a humorous reply when asked how has he taken his game to the next level.

Stopping talking to the referees was the biggest thing for me. I mean, I’m still going to talk to them, but I’m not going to lose my temper or energy over something I know isn’t going to change.

Nikola Jokic via Eurohoopsnet

Jokic has often been criticized for arguing with referees and begging for calls in the past. However, he did promise to control his emotions in the offseason. There have been instances where he has broken his promise, but he has become a lot better this season. The center continues to put up otherworldly performances as he is currently averaging a triple-double – 29.8 points, 12.1 rebounds and 11 assists.

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