Teague Calls Time on the Era of LeBron, Curry, and KD
Los Angeles, Dec 27 – Christmas Day in the NBA has long been the stage where superstars shine brightest, a marquee showcase reserved for the league’s elite. For over a decade, that spotlight has naturally found LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant. But according to former NBA guard Jeff Teague, this year’s festivities illuminated something different: the sun is finally setting on the modern game’s most dominant triumvirate.
The games were played, the stars were in uniform, and the highlights ran as usual. Yet, for Teague, watching the action unfold from the sidelines offered a moment of clarity rather than celebration. Speaking on his Club 520 podcast just a day after the holiday slate, the former All-Star didn’t mince words about what he perceived as a definitive shift in the league’s hierarchy.
While James, Curry, and Durant remain world-class talents, Teague suggests they no longer hold the NBA in the same stranglehold that defined the last decade. The narrative of the “Big Three” of this generation running the show is dissolving. It wasn’t about a lack of effort or even a lack of skill on Christmas Day; it was the palpable sense that the sheer inevitability of their dominance has faded. The league, once bending to their will, is beginning to move on without them at the helm.
This isn’t just a story of decline; it is a story of ascension. As the grip of the old guard loosens, Teague identified the specific forces stepping into the void. The transition isn’t coming—it’s here.
Teague pointed to a new trifecta reshaping the landscape: the cerebral dominance of Nikola Jokic, the alien versatility of Victor Wembanyama, and the explosive charisma of Anthony Edwards. These are the names now dictating the terms of engagement. Where the Christmas games once served as a coronation for the established legends, this year they felt more like a farewell tour for an era, making way for a league now driven by international unicorns and explosive young guards.
“It showed me changing of the guards… [Curry, James, and Durant] are not running the league anymore. It’s safe to say Jokic, Wemby, and Ant are taking over the league.”
Teague’s comment is significant because it voices a quiet reality many have hesitated to acknowledge. By explicitly naming the successors—Jokic, Wembanyama, and Edwards—he frames this not as a power vacuum, but as a completed transfer of power. It validates the feeling that while the legends are still present, the future has already arrived.
Father Time remains undefeated, even against the greatest to ever play the game. While LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant will likely continue to produce highlight-reel moments, Jeff Teague’s assessment marks a psychological turning point for the NBA. The torch hasn’t just been passed; it has been seized by a new generation, signaling that the league officially belongs to a new set of kings.
