A rookie's initial brush with the NBA – typically during training camp – can be overwhelming for most. Coming off college, where everything was done systematically and whatever the coach said was law, former NBA guard Jeff Teague recalled feeling like a fish out of water when he joined the Atlanta Hawks ' training camp in 2009.
Picked 19th overall in the 2009 draft after playing for Wake Forest in the NCAA, Teague joined a veteran-laden squad that was coached by Mike Woodson. Eager to prove his worth to the team, he entered the training camp expecting to go through drills with the enthusiasm of an Army private.
However, he soon discovered that things at this level worked differently.
As mentioned, in college, players did exactly what their coach asked them to. No questions asked. However, Teague learned that in the NBA, a coach's instructions could be treated like mere suggestions.
"I had Woody. Our s–t was like going to a country club. Yeah, half the people not practicing. I couldn't understand it," Teague recalled.
"Bibby wouldn't practice. Bibby did the first day. He like, 'Wood, I'm good man. Come on, man. Let's get, let's get this s–t over with," he continued, referring to veteran playmaker Mike Bibby. "'Come on, Bib. Give me, give me, give me half the practice. Damn, dog. Give me half the practice.'"
Teague even thought that talented forward Josh Smith was a scrub, seeing him just go through the motions and not do extra work.
"They never did anything in training camp. Josh Smith, I thought he was so sad, 'cause he never worked out. Like, they never did nothing," Teague added.
The vibe in training camp, though, changed drastically when Woodson declared they would play five-on-five. Everyone's ears suddenly perked up, and the enthusiasm rose to a different level.
"We gonna play hard, and man, they were so…They was totally different people, bro. I thought Jamal Crawford was cool—they start playing for real," Teague shared.
"I came home after, I told you, like, they don't miss. Don't nobody ever miss. If somebody open, they hit every shot," he stressed. "I'm the only one that's missing."
It wasn't surprising to learn how that Hawks team treated training camp. With veterans like Bibby, Crawford, Joe Johnson , and Zaza Pachulia , having gone through the grind one too many times, they knew better than to expend too much energy on tedious drills, aware that there were 82 regular-season games left to play and the playoff gauntlet after that.
However, there's always something about five-on-five basketball that gets the players going and their competitive juices flowing. It's their opportunity to show and prove who's really the man on the team, and Teague was left in awe of how quickly they all flipped the switch from indifference to cutthroat participation.
Most importantly, Teague's eyes were opened to just how good NBA players really are in person, and that leaving them open even for a split second meant an automatic bucket.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
