Former Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas recently spoke about Utah Jazz legend Pete Maravich during a recent episode of the Gil’s Arena podcast. A firm believer in the fact that the NBA has seen a huge spike in quality since the 80s and the 90s, Arenas still had some nice things to say about Pistol Pete. The three-time NBA All-Star claimed that while some of the things Maravich did has still not been recreated, the NBA has evolved since then. Arenas compared the situation to how Bugatti has updated its engines since the 80s.
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Regardless, the veteran commentator had some high praise for the five-time All-Star Maravich. Talking about who had the deepest ‘bag'(of skills) in the history of the league, Arenas talked about Pistol Pete, who, as the 41-year-old pointed out, did not have a reference point for the kind of skills he pulled off. A three-time All-Star himself, Arenas claimed that only former Miami Heat star Jason Williams came close to pulling off some of the things Maravich did back in the day, which haven’t been replicated even today.
Gilbert Arenas gives Pistol Pete Maravich his flowers
Arenas initially spoke about Pete Maravich’s passing and then shifted to his overall creativity on the hardwood. The fact that Maravich did not have a reference point meant that he was pulling things off that had never been done before in the NBA.
Pistol Pete started his career for the Atlanta Hawks in 1970 and despite never winning the NBA title, made his mark on the court. Arenas named former guard Jason Williams as the only player to even come close to Maravich. Arenas said, during the show:
“Pistol Pete [Maravich] is really underrated with passing because he had no reference of the things he was doing. He was just creating it with his imagination. They still not doing that today. Some of the things he has done there, they’ve never done it again, right? So, it’s crazy, still never done today. Like, Jason Williams was the closest, he was the closest thing to Pistole Pete. when it came to just creativity and making passes and doing all that…”
In at sense, Maravich remains unparalleled even today. Arenas pointed out that 2006 NBA champion Jason Williams, who was also known for his passing and creativity, came close to Pistol Pete in some ways.
Gilbert Arenas thinks that the NBA has improved since the 80s
Arenas’ praise of Maravich takes more significance in the backdrop of his belief about the level of quality between eras. Arenas compared the situation to how Bugatti has upgraded its cars since the 80s:
“It’s hard to put the 90s guys in there because there are rules. Your rules handicapped you. I don’t care what you say. Bugatti in 1980 or 1990 is not faster than a Bugatti today. They updated the engines. There is no test of time. We get it that you were good but the moves that we are doing today, 10-15 years they are gonna be doing sh*t that makes it look horrible.”
The former Wizards star firmly believes that the NBA is evolving year after year. He claimed that the kind of rules the 80s and 90s stars had to live with meant that they were handicapped.
Comparing the situation to present times, Arenas claimed that the NBA will continue to evolve. According to him, what we see today will seem horrible in a matter of a decade, which might be a bit of an overstatement.
