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Jeff Teague on Monta Ellis: 'He was never better than Stephen Curry'
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- Jeff Teague on Monta Ellis: 'He was never better than Stephen Curry'
Jeff Teague had the same reaction that probably every person on the planet had upon hearing Monta Ellis ' claim. Ellis, the former high-scoring Golden State Warriors guard, controversially declared on Sunday that the Warriors would've had the same success had he replaced Steph Curry . Teague, Ellis' teammate with the Indiana Pacers in 2016-2017 wasn't exactly buying it. "Imma keep it real with you. He was never better than Steph Curry," Teague said during a live recording of "The Club 520 Podcast" before saying there was another star guard who he could have seen perhaps replicating the Warriors' success with Curry . "…If you said 'We're going to take Steph Curry out of there, and put Dame Lillard, then I would be like 'Okay I could see them get the same results."
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Jeff Teague had the same reaction that probably every person on the planet had upon hearing Monta Ellis' claim. Ellis, the former high-scoring Golden State Warriors guard, controversially declared on Sunday that the Warriors would've had the same success had he replaced Steph Curry. Teague, Ellis' teammate with the Indiana Pacers in 2016-2017 wasn't exactly buying it. "Imma keep it real with you. He was never better than Steph Curry," Teague said during a live recording of "The Club 520 Podcast" before saying there was another star guard who he could have seen perhaps replicating the Warriors' success with Curry . "…If you said 'We're going to take Steph Curry out of there, and put Dame Lillard, then I would be like 'Okay I could see them get the same results." — 8/11/2026 New York Post
Former teammate D'Angelo Russell wants to see Curry join a contender in the Eastern Conference to solidify his legacy. "I would love to see Stephen Curry go to Boston," said Russell on "The Backyard Podcast." "Yeah, I would love to see that. I just think he needs that type of help around him now. Who's taking the load off him in Golden State? The rookie? Healthy Jimmy (Butler)?" — 8/10/2026 NBC Sports Bay Area
"I think you have a veteran team that's going to know how to win the last three minutes of a game," Russell continued. "They're going to know how to win. Just getting to the last three minutes is where they're going to struggle." — 8/10/2026 NBC Sports Bay Area
D'Angelo Russell: "I would love to see Stephen Curry go to Boston. Boston? Yeah, I would love to see that. Just because I think he needs that type of help around him now. Like who who's taking the load off him in Golden State? The rookie? Is Jimmy? Oh yeah, healthy Jimmy. I think you have a veteran team that's going to know how to win the last three minutes of a game. They're going to know how to win. I just, just getting to the last three minutes is where they're going to struggle." — 8/10/2026 YouTube
TheWarriorsTalk: Steph Curry posts to IG on the passing of Don Nelson: "My first coach in the NBA. One of the greatest minds in the game and pushed the way it was played!! NellyBall was a real thing. Gave me the opportunity to find myself back in '09. Forever grateful. RIP Coach." — 8/9/2026 x.com
Nelson is also credited for helping land another franchise-altering superstar in his final years as Warriors head coach. During the 2009 NBA draft, he went against consensus and pushed Golden State to draft Stephen Curry with the No. 7 pick. "One of the big reasons I was drafted by the Warriors was because of Don Nelson," Curry said in a statement. "The story is he never liked rookies, but from Day 1 he challenged me and gave me an opportunity to be my best self on the court. He taught me a lot during our one season together and I'll never forget the night he became the winningest coach in NBA history in Minnesota. We were so happy for him . "He had an immeasurable impact on the sport and will go down as one of the greatest minds in the history of the game. He's a true icon and will be missed by the countless number of people he touched, including myself, during a legendary career." — 8/9/2026 ESPN
Monta Ellis said the Warriors teams in the years that preceded that run set the stage for what Stephen Curry & Co. accomplished. But a fleet of developmental players never positioned his teams to win at that level. "That's what I dealt with. And people know that," Ellis said. "Real people that know basketball and all that, they know that. They know the team that I was dealt with. If you switched me and Steph out with the team that won the championships, it'd be the same thing. So you've got to take the good with the bad, and that's cool. It put me in a position to make money for me and my family. I ran with that." — 8/9/2026 ESPN.com
Former President Barack Obama was in Massachusetts last week to celebrate his 65th birthday. To mark the occasion, Obama teed up with NBA All-Star Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum played with another group several holes ahead of Obama. Obama, whose birthday was Tuesday, August 4, has always fancied himself quite the basketball player, so his choice of company on the links should come as no surprise. — 8/7/2026 1420 WSBM
Emerman joined the Celtics Daily podcast to speak about this dynamic. "Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Steve Kerr, they all know the deal here. They know that they're not legitimate title contenders but it's not that they're okay with that. It's just that they're faced with that reality. What they're prioritizing is going out together, going out with dignity, playing hard and improving every day as much as they can. They've all been vocal about not wanting to mortgage the future . He added, "That's a concept that we can unpack a little bit because I don't think they might have the same definition as some other people in the organization or outside the organization. They want to play as hard as they can and win as many games as they can for sure. They want to compete and they want to play the right way while knowing that a championship is probably unrealistic to strive for." — 8/6/2026 Clutch Points
The Golden State Warriors' core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green , and head coach Steve Kerr have seen the pinnacles of success in the NBA over the past decade. The trio have won four championships with a various cast of characters and made history in the process but many believe that Golden State's viability as a contender is in question following a quiet offseason and the inability to pair another young all-star level talent around Curry. Many wonder what the future for the Warriors will be but Danny Emerman of the San Francisco Standard says that Curry and Green have made it through the reality that the y might not be championship contenders with their current roster . — 8/6/2026 Clutch Points
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Jeff Teague on Monta Ellis: 'He was never better than Stephen Curry'
