Gilbert Arenas was a talented yet controversial NBA player. He starred in some polemic moments during his career, and even after he retired from the game, Gil has been making some noise around the community with his hot takes. Analyzing the game, Arenas has earned some weird looks from fans and other analysts while also beefing with other former players.
Yet, that doesn’t seem to stop him from making bold claims when talking about the association. Gilbert has a way of stirring the pot that not many people possess, and he’s not shy to share his opinion on everything. That’s how in recent hours, he made a lot of noise and not precisely for the best reasons.
Talking with Lakers’ assistant head coach Phil Handy on his No Chill podcast, the former Washington Wizards player criticized Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, boldly claiming that the 2x MVP doesn’t understand the game just yet.
The Giannis disrespect is WILD.
And he'll just keep making them look like idiots. pic.twitter.com/JJEBGRGejP
— Nathan Marzion (@nathanmarzion) August 26, 2022
“The media says he’s the best player in the league. Not even close, just stop it!” Arenas said.
“I can look at his game and say he doesn’t understand basketball yet. He plays the sport, he won a championship, cool! But he doesn’t understand how to be better, how to train his body. To be at the top, you have to train your body at least 38 minutes and above. LeBron played 37 minutes at 37. Allen Iverson was playing 43 minutes”, he added.
This is not the first time we’ve heard Arenas saying bad things about the Greek Freak. Two years ago, talking with Shannon Sharpe, he claimed that Giannis needed to learn ‘how to play basketball’ if he wanted to win a championship.
“Learn how to play basketball.”
“To be honest, he’s the James Harden of the East Coast. What James Harden is in the West, is what Giannis is there. You have a guy who’s not a point guard, who dominates the ball, and he’s playing one style. And that style is: ‘I’m gonna try to take all the big men who can’t move off the dribble, Euro step and get some dunks.’ That is amazing during the regular season, but when that court gets small you can’t do that anymore.”
Well, now Giannis is an NBA champion, earning Finals MVP for his heroics in the 2021 Finals. Still, that’s not enough for Arenas, who now makes more excuses to not acknowledge Antetokounmpo’s greatness.
During his 9-season tenure in the league, Giannis has averaged 21.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 656 regular-season games and an average playing time of 32.6 minutes. On top of that, he’s won two MVP awards, one DPOY award, the MIP award, and the aforementioned championship and Finals MVP. If he’s done that without understanding the game, imagine what he would do if he reaches the level Arenas expects from him.
