What it is like playing alongside star players? One thing is for sure, it doesn’t come without pressure. Former Warriors star Quinn Cook has played with both NBA veterans LeBron James and Stephen Curry. He has won championship titles with both the Warriors and the Lakers. Speaking from his experience, the 31-year-old spotlighted how different the pressure was playing alongside both. 

Cook shared that there was more pressure playing alongside King James. He explained that even small mistakes are highly criticized. He mentioned how missing just two shots in a row would land the players on First Take, where their performance would get heavily criticized. There would be suggestions for the players to get traded.

“Obviously, LeBron, like, the pressure that, you know, being his teammate, like, if you miss two shots in a row, like, you’re going to be on first take tomorrow. You know, saying that you need to be traded, he’s not good, blah, blah, blah. You got the pressure. Just every game is just, you know, that’s what LeBron brings,” Cook said on the Jefe Island Podcast. 

While it was different with Curry, Cook shared how it was also an intense pressure to play under Steve Kerr.  He reinforced how facing pressure is quite common while playing alongside the best of the league where the stakes are much higher. And it often lands everyone around under intense public scrutiny and criticism. 

The 2x NBA champion faced a lot of criticism when he left the Warriors to join the Lakers

Quinn Cook reveals that the Warriors pulled back their offer

The 2x NBA champion signed a deal with the Warriors in 2017 and won the championship title. Without Kevin Durant due to injury, he could have been an instrumental player for the team. Klay Thompson was also absent, having injured his ACL during the Finals.

He was even offered a standard qualifying offer, but later the Warriors withdrew the offer. “They send the offer over, I literally signed my qualifying offer for the Warriors, as I was doing it, they send me a withdrawal. I’ve got the screenshots and everything. Everything is docusigned… I literally completed it and got the withdrawal back from the Warriors,” Cook said on the same podcast.

He was great on the offensive end, but his limitations on the defensive side confused Coach Kerr. The decision to withdraw Cook’s offer likely stemmed from the team’s desire to bring in more efficient veterans. The franchise indeed signed Robinson III and Alec Burks. Unfortunately for the Golden State Warriors, it was Cook and the Los Angeles Lakers who won the championship in 2020.

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.