This season, Jordan Poole seems nothing more than a shadow of his previous self with the Golden State Warriors. Since joining the Washington Wizards, the 24-year-old has been playing with an abysmal form, averaging 16.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists from a 40% field goal percentage this year. Furthermore, what seems more concerning is his plus-minus rating of -342, which ranks dead last in the league compared to all the 520 active players this season. In the latest episode of the Gil’s Arena show, former Wizards star Gilbert Arenas reacted to Poole’s fall from grace.
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Regardless of underperforming this season, Jordan Poole had built a lasting legacy with the Warriors, winning the 2022 championship. However, all of that seems stories of the past as the Poole Party is failing to reassert himself in a team he was expected to be the lead player and a superstar. On the same line, Arenas stated on the show,
“I think the NBA grades him [Jordan Poole] last! trash! He is last, motherf***er that’s where his grade is!”
The Wizards currently hold the third-worst record in the league this season, only behind the Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs. While Gilbert Arenas was incredibly critical of Poole’s way of playing offense, Nick Young took pity on the young guard and tried analyzing his situation. Reasoning the sudden downgrade in JP’s form, Young said,
“Poole is the offense so he’s going to get all the attention. Every night he gets double teamed.”
From Young’s words, it seems like Poole’s dreams to be a superstar in the Wizards are getting farther day by day. He is averaging fewer shots than last year, with lower usage and assist rates.
His current points average ranks dead last out of 95 players who have logged at least 900 minutes this season. Additionally, the current splits of 40.7 percent from the floor and 31 percent from behind the arc make his $123 million contract extension a literal sham for the Wizards fans.
While Jordan Poole had all the chances to lead and contribute his talents for Washington, everything seemed out of favor for JP. Instead, with Poole on the floor, the Wizards have been outscored by 343 points, which is by far the worst in the league.
Jordan Poole has been heavily criticized for his form this season
The 2023-24 season has been particularly harsh for Jordan Poole, who is facing a major slump in his form. JP’s form earned him the number one spot in ‘Shaqtin’ A Fool’, where he was featured for his lack of consistency over the past several months.
In a game against the Phoenix Suns in December, Jordan Poole’s unfortunate slip during a 3-point attempt became the subject of hilarious memes and ridicule. Implying to the sheer number of embarrassing moments Poole had witnessed this season, Shaquille O’Neal commented, “Shaqtin’ a Poole is the gift that keeps on giving.”
Furthermore, recently, Nike announced their latest pair of sneakers, the G.T. Cut 3, with Jordan Poole as the face. Though the sneaker giants might have anticipated this to be a general sneaker announcement, the fans quickly turned this into a source of amusement. Poole’s recent struggles with the Wizards and the name Nike chose for these new sneaker series became a subject to troll the 2022 NBA champion.
Fans noticed the word ‘cut’ in the sneaker series’ name and pointed out how the slogan indicated JP to be ‘cut’ from the team. Perhaps it was a bad day for Nike’s social media team and Jordan Poole, as the choice of words for the announcement’s caption quickly invited an unprovoked range of hilarious trolls and comments on JP. Jordan Poole might need to show up to his potential on the court so that the Wizards do not consider giving him the ‘cut’ from the roster.
