“Ball Hogging, Iso from Michael Jordan”: Gilbert Arenas Names Players Who Influenced His Game the Most

LeBron James and JJ Redick’s joint venture Mind the Game is shaping the narratives in Internet hooping circles. During the first episode of the show, James discussed the most influential players of all time and opined that Allen Iverson and Stephen Curry have changed the way the game is played today. Inspired by the discussion, Gilbert Arenas and the crew at Gil’s Arena reflected on the players who influenced their game style. While naming his influences, Arenas took a hilarious dig at Michael Jordan.

The three-time NBA All-Star ended up deeming MJ’s game style to be iso-heavy, which resulted in a ton of ball-hogging. This left co-host Josiah Jackson in splits because he knew Arenas was engaging in one of his trolling routines toward MJ. However, Agent Zero delivered his speech so earnestly that it appeared as if he was serious. Apart from Jordan, Penny and Tim Hardaway, and then Kobe Bryant, also acted as Arenas’ inspirations.

“When I first started it was MJ, cause it was the first individual that was really pushing. So, um, I got my ball hogging, Iso work from MJ. Then it became Tim Hardaway for the crossovers and then my arms got too long so it got slow. Then when Penny [Hardaway] hit the scene, I swear to God I was Penny Hardaway. Everything was one, I wanted to bulldog on the leg and then when Kobe came, it re-introduced me to ball-hogging again,” Arenas said.

The ball hogging part has been the greatest criticism of Jordan’s game over the years, that is usually used by LeBron James fans to discount MJ in the GOAT debate. Kobe attracted flak for the same reason after he modelled his game after the Chicago Bulls superstar. While Arenas was mostly joking here, he seemed self-aware of the fact that you cannot be a All-Star caliber player without hogging the ball to some extent.

Apart from Agent Zero, other members of Gil’s Crew also revealed their inspirations. While Rashad McCants named Kobe Bryant as the most influential, for others like Kenyon Martin Jr. and Arenas himself, it was Stephen Curry who kids like to copy more. The reasoning was Curry’s playing style at 6’2” is more relatable to kids than Bryant’s 6’6” athletic game.

Gilbert Arenas expands upon his point

Gilbert Arenas was in sync with LeBron James’ most influential players list and agreed that AI and Stephen Curry have had a bigger impact on the game than their predecessors. For Agent Zero, while Bryant’s name holds a lot of sway, emulating him isn’t easily possible. He argued that while people want to wear that #8 or #24 jersey, jumping out of the gym like Bryant is not an option for most kids.

Therefore, while the Mamba has had a ton of influence in terms of popularity, kids tend to mimic Allen Iverson or Stephen Curry, as their games involve a lot of dribbling and shooting, which doesn’t necessarily require a lot of size and athleticism.  “We want number 8, number 24, Mamba for life, right? But y’all can’t. You can’t. You can yell it out all you want but you can’t. I can be Allen Iverson then I can just go around crossing people over, don’t need no game,” added Gilbert Arenas.

Thus, the Mind the Game podcast has paved the way for some enriching hooping conversations. The discussion about the most influential players of all time has opened up never-before-heard perspectives. The departure from casual sensational headlines to “pure” hoops convo is a welcome one.