Former NBA point guard Gilbert Arenas offered an easy fix to the NBA’s scoring crisis. Rather then implement new rules to strengthen the defense, Arenas says the real solution is to exile all the europeans who are diluting the game with their poor defensive habits.
“Get rid of all Europeans. You go to college to learn defense. What college do Europeans go to? They have no athleticism,” said Arenas. “They have no speed, no jumping ability. They are a liability on defense. They are 150 Euros in the league today… name the top defenders. None! Just Rudy [Gobert] and the Greek Freak. Other than that, they are offensive players.”
What often separates international players from American-born players is that they come straight from a professional league to the NBA. For Arenas, that lack of college experience is a major setback to their defensive potential and it’s the reason why they never able to learn to play on that end of the floor in the NBA.
In reality, players in Europe are taught the defensive fundamentals from a very young age and the importance of balance of both sides of the ball is a common point of emphasis. While it’s true that dealing with the size, talent, and depth of NBA rosters can be a challenge for international players, there are always setbacks on the path to success in the league.
In the case of international players, they alone cannot be blamed for the state of the NBA. Thanks to rule changes, gameplay evolutions, and preference differences, defense has taken a back seat to scoring and nobody would have been able to slow it down. Even so, Arenas clearly has something personal with inernaton aplaywers, since this is not the first time he’s called them out in this way.
Arenas Says The NBA Softened The Rules For Europeans
According to Arenas, the rise of international players has ruined the league. Besides the bad defense, Gilbert claims that European players are also responsible for “soft” rule changes that have allowed players to impose their will unchecked offensively.
Arenas also says the current syle of play (which involves a lot of drive and kicks) is tailor-made for Euorpean players, who lean on finesse and shooting over the traditional drive and slash that the NBA was known for.
Of course, most fans aggressively disagree with Arenas on all counts here. Among the NBA’s many problems, too many Europeans is not one of them an done could say that the NBA’s inclusion of European superstars like Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic is living proof that they make the league better.
As for the decline of defense, the league is already looking into the matter and their investigation could create multiple ways to mix things up on the court. Needless to say, Gilbert Arenas is in the minority and maybe he should;t be so quick to blame an entire group of players for something that’s so widespread across the league.
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