Former Atlanta Hawks star Jeff Teague had a decent career with the franchise. He had help from his teammates and coaches. One of the coaches he always brings up is Kenny Atkinson. He was an assistant coach for Mike Budenholzer from 2012 to 2016. After his stint under Coach Bud, he was named as a head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, thus starting his career as a head coach.
According to Teague, Atkinson has a good eye for talent. During a recent episode of his show, “Club 520,” the one-time All-Star said that the head coach would often tell him a specific player and what makes him good.
‘Kenny Atkinson, coach of the Cavs, told me, he’s (Giannis Antetokounmpo) gonna be the best player in the NBA. Him and Steph Curry,” Teague said. “He literally told me that. 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’.”
Teague said that Atkinson’s assessment of Antetokounmpo made him a believer. Years after he made the prediction, the Milwaukee Bucks star is now a nine-time All-Star, a two-time MVP and an NBA champion.
The former Atlanta Hawks guard also said that the current head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers told him about Stephen Curry. Atkinson said that Curry will be one of the best players in the league, which turned out to be true. Many consider the two-time MVP as the greatest shooter of all time.
Kenny Atkinson is a prophet. Wow.
(via @REGGIES_WORLD)
pic.twitter.com/51omUAaCqe— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 27, 2025
Teague revealed that he started believing whatever Atkinson said about players. According to the 2021 champion, the head coach made predictions about Kyrie Irving and Nikola Jokic.
“Seeing him being an MVP,” Teague said about Atkinson’s prediction about Jokic. “Kenny bro, you special.”
The Atlanta Hawks guard picks Russell Westbrook over Kawhi Leonard
Teague has made some of the hottest NBA takes since he started his podcast. In the recent episode, he caught the attention of most fans after he chose Russell Westbrook as a better player than Kawhi Leonard. According to the former guard for the Atlanta Hawks, Leonard is inferior since Westbrook won an MVP award while he did not.
“Kawhi Leonard not better than Russell Westbrook,” Teague said. “He not have a better career than Russell Westbrook. He won championships, but this is an individual award. Give me Russell Westbrook. He don’t have no league MVP. You was never the best player in the NBA.”
Jeff Teague says he ranks Russell Westbrook above kawhi Leonard all time pic.twitter.com/Z9kiTrLWnD
— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@Chatnigga101) August 27, 2025
Although Westbrook has an MVP under his belt, Leonard has proven to be a winner in the big leagues. His two championships are proof that he has what it takes to lead a team.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
