“Learned that from Dennis Schroder”: Jeff Teague reveals real reason why Nikola Jokic and Europeans are emotionless when winning in NBA 

Jeff Teague recently addressed the perception that international players, particularly those from Europe, don’t display much emotion when winning in the NBA. Teague shared an insight he learnt from Dennis Schroder, which also applies to the likes of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.

Speaking on an episode of the “Club 520 Podcast”, Teague pointed out that many European players aren’t as emotionally invested in the NBA simply because they don’t live in the United States permanently.

“It’s different for people like Luka and Jokic and all them. It don’t bother them,” Teague said. “Like, European players, if they don’t win, once they leave, they don’t even live here. Nobody even cares.”

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Using Schroder as an example, Teague highlighted how the German guard views his NBA stint purely from a professional standpoint. According to Teague, Schroder treats his time in the league as a business venture. Once it's over, he’ll return to Europe to continue playing.

“They do not care about nothing,” Teague added. “I learned that from Dennis Schroder. He literally did not, not saying he don't care about America, but he just be like, 'When I'm done playing here, I'll go play back home. I'm gonna get all the money I can here, go home. Then go play back home.' Like, they do not care.”

Currently, most of the European players have returned to their national teams, participating in training camps as they prepare for the 2025 EuroBasket, which is scheduled to begin in the final week of August.

Jeff Teague reacts to Nikola Jokic crying following his horse’s race win

Nikola Jokic is widely recognized for showing no emotions when it comes to his NBA success. Even after winning three MVP awards, an NBA championship and a Finals MVP, the Serbian superstar rarely shows much excitement.

However, his reaction was completely different when his horse, Demon Dell'Est, secured a victory at the Duzijanac 2025 horse race in Subotica, Serbia, during the last week of July.

This time, the Denver Nuggets center showed genuine emotion. Jokic’s animated celebration over the horse’s win was far more expressive than anything seen from him on the basketball court.

Reacting to the clip, Jeff Teague claimed on the same episode that the horse race had nothing to do with money.

"He won a championship. Said, 'Yeah, I'm ready to go home,'" Teague said (Timestamp- 3:46 onwards). "Bro, he started crying. He put his hands in the air… Bro, that's how you crawl and hit the lottery, bro. That has nothing to do with the money, bro. He just turned down a filthy ticket, bro. … Bro, he hugged the horse."

Jokic recently passed on signing a three-year, $212 million extension with the Nuggets this summer. However, he is eligible for a larger $292 million deal next year.

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About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia is an NBA, WNBA, and tennis journalist at Sportskeeda with over four years of experience in the field with The SportsRush.

Advait has a love of basketball that stems from playing the game, and has represented Mumbai North at the Inter-District State Championship and Maharashtra at the ASISC National Games.

His favorite team is the New Orleans Pelicans, although Advait also has an affinity for the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. His favorite player of all time was Kobe Bryant, as the Lakers legend's undeniable talent and mentality were just unignorable. As for players in the current game, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama, and Kyrie Irving are top of Advait's list.

When not watching or writing about sports, Advait is a fan of true crime shows, board games and console gaming.

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