Gilbert Arenas and Nick Young both played for 11 years in the NBA but had contrasting careers overall. While Arenas had a stellar individual career and earned three All-NBA nods, Young’s biggest achievement was his 2018 NBA championship. The former was one of the best in the League, while the latter was fodder for Shaqtin’ A Fool. However, Young has one championship ring, while Arenas has none, and that seemingly bothers the former Wizards guard a lot.
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On the latest episode of the Gil’s Arena podcast, host Josiah Johnson asked Young whether Klay Thompson ghosting Stephen Curry the night before his return to the Bay Area served as motivation for the two-time MVP. Under normal circumstances, the retired guard would share his view and Arenas would follow suit.
However, the three-time All-Star wasn’t interested in discussing the topic at hand. He was worked up about Johnson calling Young an NBA champion. The three-time All-Star even pointed out how little Young contributed to the Warriors’ title win in 2018. Arenas said,
“You keep calling [Nick Young] an NBA champion. I’m looking at the stats. You didn’t have 10 goddamn points the whole playoffs… You played seven games and had no points, man… Seven games you didn’t score a bucket… Brother you were sorry as a motherf**ker man.”
Young played 21 games in that title run and averaged 2.6 points on 30.2% shooting. He ranked 10th in minutes per game on that roster and would only get subbed into the game when Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson needed a short breather.
He’d also get opportunities to showcase his talents when the Warriors were winning by large margins. So his dismal shooting wouldn’t affect the result in the slightest.
Arenas is right in pointing out that Young’s contribution to that championship win was minuscule. However, it wasn’t zero. He played 101 games for that team and scored 52 points in 21 playoff games. And Young did hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy after Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers.
It may have been a lucky move, but Nick Young managed to win an NBA title. His real contribution to the 2018 team is immaterial. The Warriors never expected their 10th man to win games or have a real impact. But Gilbert Arenas cannot change the fact that Young is an NBA champion forever.
