Having Claimed LeBron James is Not Intimidating, 3x All-Star Snubs Stephen Curry to Crown Giannis Antetokounmpo the ‘Most Feared’ Player

Gilbert Arenas played in the NBA for 11 seasons before hanging up his boots in 2012. A three-time All-Star, Arenas fell off the grid after retiring but has started to regain footing through multiple interview appearances. A few months ago, he made headlines by claiming LeBron James did not induce the same level of fear as Michael Jordan. Recently, in an interview with VLAD TV, Arenas gave another hot take picking Giannis Antetokounmpo over Steph Curry as the most feared player in the league.

In the interview, Arenas was asked to choose the most feared player in the league by the host. He went on to name several players while taking a while to conclude. Eventually, he decided to snub the Golden State Warriors guard and landed on the Greek freak from Milwaukee. A tough decision to take, but Gilbert had his reasons.

Gilbert Arenas selects Giannis over Curry

According to Gilbert Arenas, the most feared player in the league should be defined based on the individual’s capability on the court and his ability to embarrass the opponents. His list included Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, and Kyrie Irving. However, when he had to narrow it down, he chose Giannis, as he impacts the court on both ends. Here is what he said:

“I’ll probably say Greek the freak, because he is going to do it on both ends. There is no reasoning with this motherf***** when it comes to on the court. When he is stepping on the court , you know what’s gonna happen.”

Though Arenas made some good points, it still leaves you pondering over his decision. Especially, considering the success Steph Curry has achieved as compared to Giannis and the amount of attention he garners on the floor. However, Arenas is known to make debatable statements. Not long ago, he had Jordan picked over LeBron James after quoting that LeBron doesn’t incite fear in the heart of his opponents.

Arenas says Jordan was more feared than LeBron

In March of 2023, Gilbert gave an identical argument when declaring Michael as more feared than LeBron. He gave LeBron his props for being an outstanding all-round player but ended his sentence with an asterisk. According to him, the fear factor came from the player’s ability to explode offensively if you let your guard down.

Gilbert Arenas:

“Did anyone fear Magic? No. Did anyone fear Stockton or Malone? No… No one feared Tim Duncan. Jordan was feared. Al was feared. Kobe was feared. LeBron is an all around player. I’m not afraid of a guy who’s gonna give me 29/9/9, i’m afraid of a man who’s gonna… pic.twitter.com/Emn8Uxc3Kk

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 22, 2023

James is known to impact the game in multiple ways but has seldom taken the house down with his scoring. Gilbert followed his reasoning with examples of Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant, who could score between thirty to seventy points on any given night. That kind of offensive prowess is what makes the player fearful.