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"They have no athleticism. They have no speed, no jumping ability": Gilbert Arenas criticizes NBA Europeans for not defending
NBASunday, 03 March 2024 at 14:00
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas believes the European players
are the reason behind poor defensive performances in the NBA.
There has been a lot of discussion regarding the reasons behind
players registering large sums of points in a single match in the last couple of
seasons.
The discussion started after the Dallas Mavericks star forward
Luka Doncic and the Philadelphia 76ers centre Joel Embiid registered 70 points
or more in a game this season.
Doncic registered 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks whereas
Embiid registered 70 points in the match against the San Antonio Spurs.
Arenas played for five different franchises in his NBA
career — the Golden State Warriors (2001-03), the Washington Wizards (2003-10),
the Orlando Magic (2010-11) and the Memphis Grizzlies (2012) — was recently quoted
in a report where he stated that the primary
reason behind team’s dismal defensive record in the recent past is the inclusion
of European players in the mix.
“Get rid of all Europeans,” he said. “You go to college to
learn defence. What college do Europeans go to? They have no athleticism. They
have no speed, and no jumping ability.
“They are a liability on defence. They are 150 Euros in the
league today… name the top defenders. None! Just Rudy [Gobert] and the Greek
Freak. Other than that, they are offensive players.”
It seems that the reference he is making is about Doncic and Nikola Jokic as two players have been exceptional in points scoring but not great while defending.
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