Gilbert Arenas doesn’t shy away from sharing his opinions. On his podcast, Gil’s Arena, the Washington Wizards legend reacted to the claim that Manu Ginobili was a better player than him. Agent Zero was, obviously, livid and even went on an NSFW rant while comparing himself to the San Antonio Spurs legend.
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Gilbert Arenas was one of the more dynamic players in the 2000s. Even though he never lifted the championship or won any major individual accolade, the three-time NBA All-Star takes pride in his game and achievements. Hence, the comparison to Manu Ginobili didn’t sit well with him.
Arenas revealed that the Spurs’ shooting guard failed to put up visually pleasing numbers when he was starting games without Tony Parker and Tim Duncan on the lineup. He also shed light on Ginobili merely averaging around the 13 points per game mark, while he was dropping “50-60 every night”. He said,
“Ginobili was better than me? Get the f**k out outta here. I don’t know what the f**k people getting this Ginobili sh*t… You only know him cause he has rings. You don’t know him because he was out there scoring 50-60 every night.”
In a strong voice, Arenas stated that he should not be compared to the 4-time NBA champion, “Do not try to f**king compare me to no Ginobili. He played 65 games as the number 1 option… He was the number 1 focal point – 13 (points)! That sh*t isn’t easy when the two are of the court, ain’t it?”
Arenas had the better stats among the two in the 12 games that they faced off against each other. He averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.4 steals in comparison to the Argentine, who posted 14.3-3.8-3.1-1.1 on the board. However, it’s worth noting that Ginobili played significantly fewer minutes and was on the winning side on eight occasions.
Even in terms of their legacy, Manu was far more successful than Arenas. While the Wizards superstar had one more All-Star and All-NBA selection, the South American won four championships, was selected to the Hall of Fame, and even had the respect of his competitors.
Manu Ginobili is one of the most respected players in the league
Like a majority of the players on the San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t known for his personality either. However, Ginobili was a huge part of the franchise’s championship runs in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014.
Coming off the bench for the majority of his career, with the usage of his strong fundamentals, Ginobili was successful in outperforming his opponents. Hence, he was lauded for being highly productive, as even his competition held him in high regard.
Kobe Bryant, who had an intense rivalry with the San Antonio Spurs throughout his career, often showered Ginobili with lofty praises. Following his retirement, Bryant explained how the 2008 Sixth Man of the Year had one of the most unique games,
“So I first matched with him. He was real shifty with the ball. He would shift one way then went the other way. I was like ‘who the hell is this kid?’…. we had never seen a player play with that kind of rhythm before.”
Tim Duncan also deep-dived into how Ginobili’s presence had a huge impact on the team, “The little stupid games he brought back every summer from his Argentinian team that he made us all do… It’d keep it light and fun but you always knew around Manu that you’d have to keep your head up and be aware.”
Even though Arenas was a great player, he comes off as a jealous detractor whenever speaking about Manu Ginobili. The latter might not be a big name or even be in the same conversation as several all-time greats, however, he did fulfill his role and was rewarded for the same by being enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
