Gilbert Arenas has never been one to pull his punches when speaking on the current or past NBA. From his “No Chill Podcast” to various interviews with different media outlets, you can always count on Arenas to speak his mind openly and honestly. Arenas spent 11 seasons in the NBA, and at his peak, he was one of the most exciting point guards to watch in the entire NBA. His basketball takes have made him even more famous since he retired.
Arenas has addressed every topic in basketball you can think of. From his claim that players of the 70s and 80s wouldn’t be able to play in today’s game to his most recent claim about Stephen Curry, Arenas has never backed down from his opinion.
His latest take on Curry takes on the belief held by most NBA fans that Stephen Curry himself changed the way the game of basketball is played. With 3-point shooting at an all-time high in volume and efficiency, Curry has always taken the credit for getting that movement started. According to Arenas, he doesn’t deserve all of that credit.
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“Steph Curry didn’t change the game. The Warriors changed the game,” Arenas said. “Steph in Pop’s (Gregg Popovich) organization does not change the game. So, the whole system allows Steph to be himself and then have to conform to the system.”
“There’s coaches that allow players to explore your game. And there’s coaches that say, “No, this is my style. You fit in to this style.’ Having Mark Jackson first, then having Steve Kerr and they say, ‘Hey, Steph, do you. Go out there and explore.’ That system with Steph, Klay (Thompson) and how they thought the game is what changed it.”
Does Gilbert Arenas Have A Point?
In more ways than one, I can agree with part of what Arenas is saying. There is no denying how great of a shooter Stephen Curry is, he is the greatest shooter in NBA history. What Arenas has said does not take away from what Curry has accomplished or what he will accomplish in the future. He is a 2-time MVP and a 4-time NBA champion. His ability to shoot the ball is what got the attention of so many fans worldwide and it is what has cemented his legacy as one of the game’s greatest players. However, didn’t someone need to give him the green light?
As Arenas alludes to, Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr do deserve some credit for the way they allowed both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to find their shooting stroke. Even early on in Curry’s career, Jackson knew that he and Klay would become the greatest shooting backcourt ever. They did just that, and it is due to their abilities that they earned that title. We mustn’t forget the coaches who saw they had a weapon no one else did and let that weapon do the work.
I do also think Arenas is wrong on a certain front as well. Stephen Curry would become Stephen Curry anywhere he went. The difference between a good coach and a great one is maximizing the strengths of their players on the court. Any great coach would have seen what Curry could do and let him work, including Gregg Popovich.
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