Gilbert Arenas was a guest on ‘The OGs’ podcast recently. When answering some fan questions, Arenas was asked to play start-bench-cut with LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. Despite Kobe being his favorite player, he chose to cut him, while choosing LeBron to start, and Michael Jordan to come off the bench.
“We’re just going to piss everybody off. Imma start LeBron, bench Jordan, cut Kobe. Kobe is my favorite player of all time, but I can’t have Jordan and Kobe on the same team. Obviously, if Jordan starts and Kobe is coming off the bench, Jordan ain’t coming out for him. If I start Kobe, he ain’t subbing in Jordan.”
“So I’m gonna go with a safe pick as a coach. I am gonna start LeBron, Jordan off the bench. You know Bron will come off the bench, you know he plays the right way. You switch it up, Jordan in, Bron ain’t never getting in the goddamn game, I can tell you that.”
(54:50 onward)
Arenas makes some solid points about why he chose the players he did. First of all, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are virtually identical as players, and having two of them together wouldn’t benefit any coach. So choosing Michael Jordan over Kobe Bryant makes sense.
Furthermore, Arenas also brought up a key factor when discussing why he would start LeBron. Unlike Jordan and Kobe, who took great pride in being the best players on their team, LeBron James is focused on winning games for his teams and playing the game the right way, even if that means sacrificing his own numbers and minutes.
Arenas said it best – LeBron would happily come out of the game to accommodate Michael Jordan. Whereas Jordan wouldn’t be willing to do the same. For Arenas, picking between the three and sacrificing his favorite player was a difficult choice, but one he made and justified very well.
LeBron James Continues To Build His Legacy
Perhaps no player of his caliber has had their legacy and credentials questioned quite as much as LeBron James. James is considered by many to be one of the greatest players of all time, if not the outright greatest. But so many legends of the game, past and present, have tried to tear him down and questioned his way of doing things.
Recently, former NBA champion Mario Elie suggested that LeBron James couldn’t surpass Michael Jordan as the GOAT because he didn’t compete like Michael did, and chose to form superteams in the league with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to win his first NBA championships.
Stephon Marbury, a player who actually played against LeBron James, claimed that he wasn’t even better than Kobe Bryant, and needed to surpass his legacy to even be compared to Michael Jordan. It is clear that there are a lot of players who are very protective of the legacy of Michael Jordan.
While there is no denying the greatness of Michael Jordan, fans and players can show their respect and adulation for Jordan without tearing down LeBron James. Players like James come around once in a generation, and he deserves his flowers.
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