Gilbert Arenas recently appeared on “Vlad TV” to discuss why he believes the 2000s era of basketball is the best of all time. Arenas, who played during this period, offered a nostalgic and insightful perspective on what made that decade so special for him and many other fans of the game.
“The best era is basically for me when I played in it. Right? So from 2000 to 2001 to 2010, 11 is the best era for me. But just like anybody, it’s going to be the era that what made you fall in love with it.”
“So most people will say the 80s because the 80s is the reason the 80s is like a golden era, because that’s when we first see it on TV. Is this when your eyes first seen what the NBA was live, or pre-recorded and put on? So you know, everything is judged off of that. So, you know, the NBA is softer compared to the eighties.”
“Well, if you ask the players in the 70s, the 80s was soft to them, right? Uh just a bunch of weak dudes. They do this, you know, because they got the clothesline and beat you up and do all this and nothing happened. $25 fine. You guys are weak and and that’s how they use it. So, you know, every era gets softer to the era before it.”
“So my era is, I’ll say the 2000s. And I like that era because whoever you consider the great within the last 50 years, is gonna be Michael Jordan, Kobe or LeBron, I got to play against all of them.”
“So, but s**t, they’re near the top five. Yeah. Top five ever. Right? I got to be in that, right? Tim Duncan, right? Shaquille, right, Magic, you know, I got to play against Magic when I was growing up.”
“I got to all the shooting guards, you know, AI, you know, I played against Jordan, played against Kobe, AI, Dwayne Wade, Vince, like, you know what I mean? So I felt that I got to touch a lot of talent and play against it.”
He highlighted the years from 2000 to 2011 as the pinnacle of basketball excellence. His argument is rooted in personal experience and the influence this period had on him. He acknowledges that everyone’s favorite era is often the one that made them fall in love with basketball. For many, that might be the 1980s, which Arenas recognizes as a golden era because it was when the NBA first became widely televised and accessible, capturing the imaginations of a new generation of fans.
Arenas points out that every generation tends to view the era before it as tougher and more physical. This progression of perceived softness continues through each decade, leading Arenas to assert his own era’s place in the pantheon of great basketball periods.
A significant part of Arenas’ argument is based on the talent he got to compete against. He highlights that the 2000s allowed him to play against some of the greatest players in NBA history, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.
Additionally, Arenas emphasized the depth of talent during his playing days, mentioning legends like Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, and Vince Carter. The opportunity to compete against such a wide array of basketball luminaries made the 2000s a particularly rich and competitive era in his view.
Arenas’ appreciation for the 2000s era is deeply personal but also widely relatable. The combination of iconic players, competitive matchups, and the overall quality of the game during that decade solidifies its place as the best era of all time for him and many others who watched or played during those years.
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