Gilbert Arenas is one of the greatest players in Washington Wizards history and objectively one of the most memorable guards of his era.
This week, Arenas opened up about which player was hardest for him to guard over the course of his career.
“To be honest, you’d rather guard Kobe [Bryant] than Allen [Iverson],” Arenas said.
“With Kobe, he is going to go to his spots, and he is playing through the offense. He would get the ball, see if he has a good look, pass it, but Allen, as soon as he got the ball, he wanted to go and try to score.
“If he didn’t, he would pass the ball, get it back, and then try to score. And don’t have a number 3, and if you wore number 3, he took it personally.”
Arenas’ praise for Iverson didn’t stop there.
“I always say Allen was like that white boy player in high-school that played balls hard,” he continued.
“He is playing 150 miles per hour the whole time. Him getting a steal here to him saving the ball, jumping four rows to the stands. Somehow he gets out of that and made a layup. That was his hustle.”
Arenas and Iverson met on 12 separate occasions over the course of their careers. Iverson ultimately beat him on seven occasions, averaging 27.7 points per outing in the process.
Meanwhile, Arenas and Bryant faced off on 16 separate occasions. The latter star emerged victorious nine times, averaging 29.8 points per outing.
Larsa’s post left folks real mad. https://t.co/ClHBdqIpWD
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 9, 2020
Because he never quite reached the heights of some of his predecessors and the end of his career was ravaged by injuries, Arenas sometimes fails to get the respect he deserves.
Many don’t realize that he is a three-time NBA All-Star, three-time member of the All-NBA Teams, and was voted the NBA Most Improved Player in the 2002–03 season. Arenas also holds the Wizards franchise records for most three-point field goals made, most points in a game, and most turnovers in a game.
Gordon Hayward has a signature shoe and it’s inexplicably hotter than LeBron’s. https://t.co/GZ9rZiOdz3
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 9, 2020
Beyond all those accolades, Arenas holds the notable distinction of being the first NBA player to be waived under the “amnesty clause” following the 2011 lockout.
Needless to say, Agent 0 had something of a memorable career.
Related: Will The Miami Heat Trade For James Harden?
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
