“James Harden and Damian Lillard play like me”: Gilbert Arenas on whose game resembles his the most

Gilbert Arenas thinks Dame Lillard and James Harden are the closest to him in terms of playstyle currently.

Gilbert Arenas was one crafty player in his heyday. Players right now bait the referees into giving them fouls, but Gilbert Arenas was doing that years ago. He along with Kobe Bryant used to study the referee’s psyche, making them give fouls. Not the blatant BS calls we see today, but legit calls because he knew how to use the game’s loopholes.

In the “About the Game” podcast Arenas speaks about how he honed his craft over the summers, studying extensively to make sure he was the best player of his type. He even said Kobe could not guard him because he was on a completely different level compared to him!

When asked about who reminds him of him the most in today’s game, he promptly replied “Dame and James Harden”.

Both of them are primary ball handlers for the team, just like Gilbert was, along with Harden famously known for taking volume free throws.

Famously known for bringing a gun into the locker room, Gilbert Arenas was John Wall before John Wall. Despite being only 3 years older than LeBron James, he’s been out of the league for almost 10 years now.

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Gilbert Arenas knows a thing or two about being successful individually.

Gilbert Arenas was one of the best players in the mid-2000’s. His battles with players like Kobe Bryant and a young LeBron James were some of the best rivalries from that era. While he played at a really high level individually, his being on the Washington Wizards during his peak years did not do any good.

He was taking eight 3pt shots a game at his highest, numbers that rival modern players way back in 2006. For him to be forward-thinking when the game was still mid-range focused, was revolutionary.

Arenas was a 3-time all-star, the Most improved player, and a couple of All-NBA selections sprinkled in. If only he had teamed up with a better set of players, he would have been more successful, akin to what Damian Lillard is right now. James Harden took note and moved on to a team that could potentially win a championship this season.

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