Putting aside the gun incident, Gilbert Arenas was quite the player. Not Giannis Antetokounmpo’s level, but he was brilliant in his way. He was a volume 3-point shooter in the early 2000s before the game evolved.
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So when he publicly advised Giannis to develop a jump shot, the public jumped on his case. “Oh you’re not a champion, Giannis is”. What’s that got to do with the advice though? Giannis does struggle with a jump shot, and if he did integrate it into his game, he’d be unstoppable.
Kids and analysts on the internet waive these nuggets of advice like yesterday’s sauce. Accolades do not define a player – his statistics and eye test define him. Gil has the stats to back his talk. The advice he gave the Greek Freak is valid – do not toss it aside that easily.
Also Read: Michael Jordan’s Son Marcus Jordan Views Larsa Pippen as a “Trophy”, Says Gilbert Arenas
Old Players can get overly critical – sometimes even flat-out jealous – But they do have good points
Shaquille O’Neal criticizing Dwight Howard comes to mind when we speak about former players targeting current ones. We don’t even need to talk about the Skip Bayless and the Stephen A. Smiths of the world, because they aren’t even ex-players.
But amidst all the open disrespect to the current generation, players like A.C. Green and Hakeem Olajuwon still give coaching advice to the current generation. The Dream has coached so many young centers and even LeBron James’ footwork.
Basketball is a tough sport to master. Entering the NBA is harder than getting into Harvard, statistically speaking. Sharing tips and tricks to strengthen the current generation should be the norm. No, Chill Gil does try to do it, but he comes off as condescending at certain points.
Gilbert Arenas wasn’t a super decorated player – but that was because of his doing
It isn’t tough to push aside Gil’s statements about Giannis because of the disparity in their mentalities. Talent-wise, Arenas is quite easily head and shoulders above the Greek Freak. Only one man, however, is foolish enough to bring a gun into the locker room.
The Washington-based team may have lost the moniker “The Bullets” in 1997, but bringing a full magazine of it into the locker room didn’t do him any good. That is the reason he was pushed out of the league; otherwise, why would anyone turn away from an All-Star?
His off-court antics do not diminish what he could do with a basketball. He is right: Giannis Antetokounmpo could do much better things with a jumper. We don’t know if he saw the video, but the advice seems to have gotten to him.
He’s changed the mechanics of his jumper, making it much smoother. This hasn’t translated into much in terms of numbers, but Giannis appears to be more confident when shooting the ball.
