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Gilbert Arenas took to Instagram to critique the best player walking the face of the earth — LeBron James — and, for the most part, there was nothing but praise.
this person comes around once in a blue moon...a man whos so physically gifted he could walk into any sport and be a HOF’ER off his natural (God given ability) last person who was this gifted in sports might have been #BOJackson
Nobody sane really questions that LeBron rivals Wilt Chamberlain as maybe the two most physically gifted players — guys far ahead of their peers — in NBA history. But we are at the point in LeBron’s career where we are comparing him to the other All-Time greats and starting to figure where he ranks in the pantheon (a process that is ongoing as LeBron is still in his peak, his legacy still forming).
That’s where Arenas dropped the bomb.
James isn’t a #1 option..and yes I (didn’t stutter) he lacks #selfishness so he will always need a go to guy like wade was or kyrie.. he lacks what jordan and kobe were..great 1 on 1 players... he needs a pure scorer beside him so he can carry the TEAM load...he gets bashed alot by media becuz he doesn’t take over like #MJ or #KB but #LBJ is MAGIC with Jordan like athleticism..so he walks into stats without trying and when forced he will give u 41 12 8...the finals was the first time in his career he was physically pushed to the limit becuz he had no one to defur to
I think Arenas has a narrow definition of a No. 1 option.
Which was evident in his game, but that’s another story.
Arenas seems to defined a No. 1 player as a guy who can take over a game in isolation settings — that is debatable in any era of basketball but particularly now in the Thibodeau/overload era where defenses stack up against isolations. Still LeBron does pretty well in those settings. Last season (per NBA.com/Stats), James ran the second most isolation sets in the NBA to James Harden (at 458) and scored .93 points per play on them. That’s not mind-blowing, but it’s in the top 25 percentile. He is very effective in that setting.
What makes LeBron different is that ability to pass out of that isolation set and find the right player at the arc or making a cut. His passing ability opens up the floor.
Arenas then says the thing that really allows us to poke a hole in his argument.
like u ppl have no idea what he could do if he had (1) season just 1 selfish season like kobe did in 2005-06 he will avg 40+ 11 9 and no one could do shit about it...it’s sad the world wont get to see Who I’m talking about becuz his legacy is built on winning.
The problem with LeBron is he wants to win more than rack up numbers? Not sure most of us see that as a flaw.
Arenas ends with more praise for LeBron.
this man could be the second best 3rd for sure player to ever play when it’s all said and done around 2020+and he didn’t even tap into his ability to be GREATEST..
I’m not sure where he ends up on the all-time rankings (which are subjective in the first place), but putting rings above numbers will not hurt his standing in my mind.