Kobe Bryant, the relentless competitor who pushed his teammates to greatness, wasn’t afraid to cross the line. According to Jeff Teague, Kobe’s frustrations once turned into a full-blown tirade against a teammate—all because of Teague’s own decision. Teague has been on a mission lately, sharing stories about the Black Mamba on podcasts like Club 520 and Gil’s Arena. The most surprising? How Teague’s choice not to join the LA Lakers left his replacement, Jeremy Lin, in the hot seat with Kobe.

Nick Young recently joined Club 520’s podcast, chatting about what it was like to play alongside Kobe Bryant. With the end of his anecdote, Teague chimed in to recount how Kobe lashed out at Jeremy Lin, all because Teague had turned down a chance to play for the Lakers. The Mamba did not exactly take kindly to the rejection and new joinee Lin was left to take the brunt.

Back when the Lakers were seeking new talent, Kobe pushed the front office to recruit Teague, hoping to strengthen the team. But to Kobe’s surprise, Teague declined the offer, leaving the Lakers to sign Jeremy Lin instead. That first matchup between Teague and the Lakers that season was anything but friendly. Teague recalled, “In the middle of a game, Kobe came to me and said, ‘Why you got me out here with this sh*t?’ I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘You left me with this sh*t,’ and he pointed out Jeremy Lin. I’ll never forget that.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Teague revealed another twist: Kobe even offered to arrange a trade to bring Teague to LA, but once again, Teague declined. The reason? Teague didn’t want the burden of California’s hefty taxes. “I don’t want to go to LA. I look at the taxes and all that, and I’m like, nope, don’t want to go there,” Teague explained — a sentiment Shaquille O’Neal would understand.

Ultimately, that season was one of the Lakers’ worst during the Kobe era. They managed just 27 wins to finish 14th in the Western Conference and Lin definitely felt the heat.

Jeremy Lin gets the Mamba treatment

In August, a clip of 2014 Lakers practice surfaced on the internet, showing Kobe Bryant going ruthless on the Harvard graduate. The Mamba can be heard taunting Lin for lacking the “killer instinct” to get past him. “Go ahead, shoot,” Kobe started. When Lin failed, the Lakers icon kept up with the criticism.

Kobe’s words were brutal. “You [Lin] ain’t got s*t on me. Go ahead shoot, shoot,” he added. Lin missed again and Kobe extended his taunts. “Motherfker can’t even get ready to shoot. Fker didn’t even want to shoot that st. Talked his a*s right into that bullst**. F*ker don’t want no problems with me.” Things went from bad to worse for Lin as after committing a turnover, Kobe went on to blast Lin’s lack of focus and effort.

The 2019 champion played 74 games for the Lakers that season, averaging 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. For the next, he moved to Charlotte Hornets, improving all fronts.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.