In a recent interview with DJ Vlad, former 6ft 4″ All-Star player Gilbert Arenas had polarizing opinions about the Celtics legend Bill Russell. Between Nikola Jokic and Russell, Arenas chose the recent Finals MVP over Bill Russell as one of his top 5 ‘big men,’ oddly the greatest NBA champion with 11 rings. In this context, the conversation was about the greatest big men in basketball, and Nikola Jokic undoubtedly deserves a place on this list.
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The Joker helped the Nuggets win their first NBA championship while earning himself a Finals MbigVP title with his performance. Elaborating further, Gill compared the greatest players of the sixties decade to having similar or somewhat lesser skills than the current generation players.
Nikola Jokic is one of the all-time great centers to grace the league. The Joker is a two-time consecutive league MVP winner and has an incredible ability to get triple-doubles. Furthermore, Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most dominant centers of all time, has given Jokic his props as the President of the Big Man Alliance during the playoffs.
Gilbert Arenas snubs Bill Russell over Nikola Jokic in his list of ‘All-Time Big Men in Basketball’
Speaking to DJ Vlad on his show VLADTV, Gilbert Arenas explained why he would choose Nikola Jokic over Bill Russell as a center. Before comparing the Joker to the great 11x NBA Champion Bill Russell, Arenas exclaimed how Shaquille O’Neal would always remain the most dominant center of all time. Following this, Arenas explained why the current generation of players is much more skilled in basketball than their counterparts from the sixties decade.
In the sixties decade, there were hardly two or three black players professionally engaged in playing for an NBA team. Furthermore, most players also maintained a second job while playing professional basketball. Elaborating on his thought further, Arenas said:
“There was basically two to three black people back then. There was no free agency, so it only happened in trades. Um, f**king AAU schedule, you had the YMCA schedule. So, that means there’s f**king four teams on the side, four to six on the side, four to six on this side. So, whoever was the dominant team, you weren’t gonna get dethroned because there was no free agent market, you just drafted players or you traded. So basically, if you didn’t like your talent, and you’re trying to rebuild, all you did is trade with Boston, they gove you their starters. That’s why like, they had bench players that made the All-Star game and are all in the NBA Hall of Fame. So two out of his [Bill Russell’s] three championships, his team was under 500.”
Through the comment above, Gill Arenas highlighted how basketball has evolved. True to his saying, NBA did change rules since the sixties decade. Compared to any of the recent season’s games, a basketball game would have stark differences in the players’ style of play and aggressiveness. Concluding his thoughts about Bill Russell, Arenas admitted that although the legends helped build the fundamentals, it’s time to acknowledge the newer generation is much better skill-wise.
“You have your 11 rings, I get it. You don’t wanna talk down on the guys who started this. And that’s usually their argument, ‘Well, we started this for you.’ Congratulations! I get it, someone had to. But when you’re talking about the greatest of all time, I’m sorry you [Bill Russell] cannot make the list anymore.”
Gilbert Arenas eventually snubbed Bill Russell from his top 5 centers list and hailed the Joker and Shaq as his greatest centers.
Nikola Jokic is by far one of the most versatile centers of all-time
Nikola Jokic, when compared to Bill Russell, is considered an extremely versatile center. Despite fulfilling his defensive duties, the Joker has exceptional abilities to pass the ball and can play an extremely polished offensive game. However, Bill Russell had exceptional defensive skills, which helped his team win championships.
Bill Russell was a defensive specialist for his team and averaged 15.1 points per game. Nikola Jokic, on the other hand, has a much higher 24.5 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game, which helped him win the first championship for his team. Both players have etched their names as legends for their teams, given their unique and incredible accomplishments.
