Ex-Wizards star Gilbert Arenas’ idea to fix NBA’s defense is to ‘get rid of the Europeans’

Gilbert Arena’s views about the NBA world have become wildly popular in recent years, mostly due to his unfiltered opinions based on his 12-year career in the league. However, sometimes his thoughts are off the rails and you come to think if his believes are genuine, or purposely absurd looking for attention. 

One of his most recent takes really makes you think about it, as the former Wizard guard was discussing the need for defensive improvements in the NBA. During his Gil’s Arena podcast, he ranted on about how European basketball players are the main reason why defenses around the league have lost their touch.

“I know what they can do. Get rid of all Europeans,” Arenas said during a recent episode. “You go to college to learn defense. What college do Europeans go to? They have no athleticism. They have no speed, no jumping ability. They are a liability on defense. 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.”

Gilbert Arenas on how to fix NBA defense: ‘Get rid of all Europeans’ https://t.co/Ld5JpQh5zr pic.twitter.com/e3BeYS1eAs

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 3, 2024

Maybe a wiser idea would be to suggest that the NBA rule book have changed in favor of offensive plays and the league has struggled to find solutions to help defenses build up their game. However, Gilbert has a different perspective.

“The NBA took away aggression,” said the ex-NBA star. “They took away aggression to open up the EuroLeague. When they first started getting here, it was too rough for them. They didn’t make it. Eventually, they softened the rules. They didn’t soften the rules for the Americans. They softened the rules to open up international.”

According to Arenas, the type of basketball being played nowadays in the United States is every year more similar to that of the EuroLeague. He explained that this is the reason why the last five MVPs come from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

“So when they say the euros are going to run the league in the next five years, why do you think that? More threes, passing, cutting — this is not our league, this is not the American style, this is the Euro style. Drive in, suck the defense in, pass the ball to the three-point line,” he insisted.

Shannon Sharpe recently clowned Arenas in his own podcast when he said he’d give up sex for a championship title

In a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, Arenas proved why he’ll say anything for attention when he assured that he would give up sex forever just to have an NBA championship ring on his finger. The podcast host couldn’t understand Gilbert’s idea, and instead clowned him on air.

“I give up s*x for a year for a championship ring,” Arenas started out. “I won’t give up no money. I’ll give up s*x before I give up a million dollars and they say you got a 100 million, take off one million for a ring depending on where I am in my career.”

Sharpe took the opportunity to make fun of the former NBA star by saying he would even give up money instead of Gilbert’s alternative. “I give up a million dollar before I give up s*x. You outta your damn mind,” he said.

“There’s like 25,000 men that got Super Bowl rings,” said Sharpe, who has four NFL rings. “There’s less than 500 men that’s in the Hall of Fame. You forced me to say it, Gil. I’ll take the Hall of Fame.”