“No speed, no jumping ability!” Europeans should be BANNED from NBA claims former star Gilbert Arenas in controversial rant

An International player has been the MVP of the NBA for the past 5 seasons.

“No speed, no jumping ability!” Europeans should be BANNED from NBA claims former star Gilbert Arenas in controversial rant

Gilbert Arenas wants European players to be banned, says excepting Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert nobody plays defense

International players succeeding in the NBA have brought a larger audience to the league. The sight of watching players from different countries come into the NBA and establish themselves as superstars has been great for the league. However, not everyone seems to be happy with their arrival. Gilbert Arenas has been vocal about the European players affecting the game negatively. And he wants them gone for their lack of defense.

As revealed by eurohoops, the former All-Star was quite animated when the topic sprung up. He talked about how the league had become offensive-focused to allow the Europeans to succeed.

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Arenas brought attention to defense too by saying;

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They have no athleticism, have no speed, no jumping ability. They are a liability on defense. There are 150 Euros in the league today… name the top defenders. None! Just Rudy and the Greek Freak. Other than that, they are offensive players. They aren’t defensive players, right?
Gilbert Arenas said

Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been Defensive Player of the Year awardees. Defense is a major part of their game. However, as per Arenas, the rest of the European players do not play defense.

Their offensive skills make up for their lack of defense. Arenas believes this has led the NBA to soften the rules and decrease the aggressiveness of the league. Hence, the European players with their offensive skills have been the MVPs in the past 5 years.

With no defense, Gilbert Arenas believes the game has gone backwards. The competition was elite up until the last decade. Now high-level scoring dominates games. Arenas wants the Europeans to be banned from the NBA.

Should Europeans be banned or do Americans need to play better?

The Europeans have certainly brought an element of skill with their play. Something that was not very evident from the Americans. The American players mostly relied on their athleticism along with skill to succeed. The Europeans seem to have relied on skill alone. Excepting Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert, other European players do not rely on dunks to get points.

This might be a problem from the American side. The newer generation of players does not have the skill set of the current American superstars. Such a lack of talent has allowed the Europeans to dominate the league. This is why, there is constant debate about who the face of the NBA will be once the current superstars retire.

Maybe Arenas is not pointing the blame in the right direction. Banning the Europeans will just kill the popularity the game has now. Maybe the Americans need to up their game to match or exceed them.

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