“I’m Michael Jordan Before 91”: Recalling Bulls Superstar’s Success Before Winning a Chip, Gilbert Arenas Weighs in on Picking 39 PPG over Championship

Gilbert Arenas always manages to engage his audience with unique takes on the most interesting of topics regularly and this is what makes his podcast intriguing to watch. In a recent episode of the Gil’s Arena show, Agent Zero had a heated debate with his podcast crew on whether it’s better for a player to win a ring off the bench or average 39 points per game in the season.

Arenas has always adopted the stance that money and stats speak volumes for a player, even more than a Championship does. He has given examples of several players who have had impactful NBA careers without winning a single NBA championship, to substantiate his point. Hence, Arenas’ obvious choice was to choose a pre-1991 Michael Jordan, who hadn’t won any rings yet but was nevertheless the scoring champion in the NBA. Meanwhile, the three-time All-Star’s crew chose to disagree.

Gilbert Arenas chooses pre-1991 Michael Jordan as his pick for averaging 39 PPG

Gilbert Arenas strongly believes that the stats and career earnings of an NBA player define their success. He had previously related it to James Harden’s massive career income and mocked Stephen Jackson for choosing a chip over earning $300,000,000.

In this week’s episode of the Gil’s Arena pod, Agent Zero sparked this debate once again and got into a heated argument with his crew. When it came to choosing a player solely based on their stats, Arenas chose the pre-1991 ringless Michael Jordan in a jiffy.

“He [Michael Jordan] didn’t win a championship yet but he was averaging 37. I want him! I want him!….* under his breath* I’m Michael Jordan! ” 

On the other side, former Sacramento Kings player Rashad McCants tried contesting Arenas on choosing a ringless MJ. Attempting to dismiss Arenas’ point, McCants tried reminding Arenas about Isiah Thomas’ achievements at that time.

Arenas tried rationalizing his comments by arguing how Jordan was the leading scorer and a scoring champ before winning his first chip. However, while doing so, Arenas didn’t fail to ridicule Rashad McCants’ career, which lasted only four years in the NBA.

Jordan faced much flak for being ringless pre-1991

Though Gilbert Arenas may think of pre-1991 Jordan’s success highly, MJ never got the support that he deserved back then. He faced enough flak from his team and the media for being ringless until 1991, despite being one of the best players in the league. Bulls’ General Manager Jerry Krause was even ready to trade Jordan at one point, only for his proposal to be rejected by the Bulls owner. 

The Bulls could win their three-peat only with the combined effort of the team. Hence, this displays how the value of a player isn’t entirely dependent on their skills and scoring prowess. A genuine winning ability and adaptability to form good team chemistry are equally important recipes to win Championships.