Back in 2014, the Los Angeles Lakers were in the midst of a rebuild around the legendary Kobe Bryant. The team had missed the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade and did not want a repeat. Meanwhile in Atlanta, Jeff Teague was cementing himself as one of the best young point guards in the NBA as the Hawks were rising up the ranks in the Eastern Conference.
Prior to the 2014-15 season, the Lakers reportedly tried to trade for Teague, but the two sides would be unable to come to an agreement. The Lakers would move on and trade for Jeremy Lin while Teague would remain with the Hawks and be named an All-Star for the only time in his career.
Kobe was unhappy with how things had turned out and made it clear that year when the Lakers and Hawks met. On a recent episode of his Club 520 Podcast, Teague shared a story of Bryant lamenting the fact that Teague was supposed to be his teammate and instead he had Lin next to him:
Bryant openly pointing at Lin on the court and saying those words seems unbelievable if it were anyone other than Kobe saying it. The Lakers legend was never one to pull any punches and let everyone know where they stood to him. If he felt Lin wasn’t good enough, he would definitely say it to his face and Teague saw that firsthand.
That 2015 team was one of the worst in Lakers history, winning only 21 games and being full of players such as Lin, Carlos Boozer, Nick Young and Wesley Johnson. Replacing Lin with Teague would not have suddenly made the Lakers a playoff contender, but it would have given the team a piece that could have been a member of the franchise for years to come.
Ultimately it wasn’t meant to be, but even though he never was Kobe’s teammate, Teague got a brief glimpse into what could have been, and just how ruthless Kobe Bryant was.
2K Sports saves mural of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna
Bryant continues to be one of the most beloved and revered people in all of Southern California. After his passing, many murals went up honoring the Lakers legend as well as his daughter Gianna with one of the most prevalent being right near Crypto.com Arena.
That mural was in danger of being removed, but 2K Sports and Digital Marketing Director Ronnie Singh worked to save it after seeing the petition being shared on social media. Singh noted that once he saw Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant share it, he knew they had to do something and got it figured out to where the piece will remain up.
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