Gilbert Arenas has been vocal against the media narratives determining the player’s legacy. Recently, he even called out journalists like Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, who get their news from unnamed sources. The former Warriors star further stated that if a journalist reveals his source, he loses his relevance. But recently, it seems ‘Agent Zero’ has a change of heart.
In the latest clip from his podcast, he not only backed the rankings of players from analysts but even defended them.
“What we do, for the most part, is opinion. Your opinion kicks in when you don’t like the facts, right? So if the professional analysts who get paid to give us a top 10 list, if they say Michael Jordan, LeBron, Kareem this and this, that’s their professional,” he emphasized.
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“Like they put all the data in the computer and put it in right. If you don’t like the list, your opinion kicks.” Even though the crew members and former players Nick Young and Brandon Jennings did not agree, Gil explained why he backed those rankings.
“The analyst list when it says ESPN, it’s a bunch of writers and sports writers. They put all the data that exists, not just the data we want to use.” To clarify, he gave an example of Michael Jordan, and the most common argument in his favor is his 100% finals record. The 3x NBA All-Star also highlighted why players have a problem with such rankings.
“We don’t want to respect the ESPN’s list. That’s why we fight it so much. LeBron [fans] say he’s number one. The Jordan fans say he’s number one, the Kobe fans say he’s number one.” However, just a few months ago, he was not a fan of any analyst or the work they do. In fact, the former guard even suggested he would listen to fans over any analysts.
“So, you’re judging everybody’s legacy on something you have no idea. You are a viewer. At this point, to be honest, I trust a die-hard fan over an analyst because I know a die-hard fan watches every f—ing game every f—king minute.” At the time, his opinion resonated with his crew.
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Why Gilbert Arenas’ crew do not like analysts verdict
The NBA’s 75th-anniversary team came out in 2021. 11 active players at the time were included and the rest were former greats. As expected, with any rankings or list, some player’s exclusion will definitely stir up a pot. One such name exclusion that did not sit right with Gilbert Arenas or his crew was Dwight Howard.
“As athletes, we have a problem with Skips, the Stephen A’s, these people… you’ve never laced up and you don’t know what it took for these guys to become who they are.” Kenyon Martin launched a rant about esteemed analysts determining players’ legacy.
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Even ‘Agent Zero’ added that even players were not fans of the exclusion. “100% of athletes are still wondering how did you make a 75 list without Dwight Howard.”
One thing to note here is that analysts were not the only people who decided on the list. As per the NBA, a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers team, and league executives, WNBA legends voted on this, alongside the sportswriters and broadcasters.