Former NBA star Jeff Teague shared the struggles he and many other NBA players face after their careers are over on his Club 520 Podcast.
“You got to have a strong mental to play in the NBA. You’re risking your whole life because you get put in this bubble where you making so much money, but you really don’t know how to do anything else. Because your whole focus is on being a basketball player.”
“Once they take basketball away from you, or if you don’t make it, no matter where you play, try to make it to the league for a couple of years, do the G-League, went overseas… You do this whole journey for 10-12 years and when it’s over, it’s like ‘Oh, what the f*ck do I do next?’.”
“So you look kind of goofy, a little bit. Especially if you weren’t blessed to make like a lot of money in that span. If you were a guy that was making for 10 years, you played $3-4 million, to the normal world that’s like, ‘You good, start your life, you got a cool life’. But you don’t really know what else to do after that.”
Jeff Teague giving the real about pro hoops life. Me and my brother always talk about this. pic.twitter.com/1qh7nINWqq
— Jamal Cristopher (@JamCristopher) July 24, 2024
Teague himself has experienced the difficulty that comes with trying to navigate the waters of the world after calling time on your career. Teague, much like many other former players, tried many different things since ending his career.
After a successful NBA career, where he was a former All-Star and won an NBA championship, Teague transitioned into podcasting with his friends, something he has found a lot of success with. Not to stay in one lane, Teague also recently made his coaching debut, becoming the head coach of the Pike Red Devils high school team in Indiana.
Gilbert Arenas Also Opened Up About Post-NBA Career Struggles
Jeff Teague is far from the only former player to talk about the difficulties that come with retiring from the NBA. Former All-Star Gilbert Arenas also spoke about how difficult it can be to walk away from basketball, comparing it to someone acclimating to normal life after a long period of incarceration.
“When you’re done, it’s no different than somebody who has been in jail for 10-15 years or in the army. Most players didn’t have Plan B’s. We’re Superman, right? So when we’re done, one, we didn’t know we were going to be done, so we sitting around trying to work out, and then it becomes a depression.”
Arenas even spoke about his own struggles, noting that despite making $100 million in salary during his time in the NBA, he felt miserable and aimless in life with no purpose, having dedicated so much of his life to playing basketball at the highest level.
Basketball isn’t just a career choice for these players – it becomes their whole life. And when they can no longer play the game, it becomes incredibly difficult for them to figure out what they are going to do with their lives.
Many players, like Arenas and Teague, have used their platforms to start podcasts and other creative ventures that allow them to still be involved in the sport despite not being on the court. And like Teague, some players even choose to pursue coaching so that they can continue to be involved in the game in some capacity.
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