Gilbert Arenas vs Kyrie Irving (3-year peak)

[GeorgeMarcus]

Kyrie certainly has the edge when looking at prime/career but what is the verdict on 3-year peaks? 05-07 Arenas landed 3 consecutive All-NBA bids (1 2nd and 2 3rds) which is the exact same as Kyrie minus the consecutive part. I don't think there's a clear answer on which seasons qualify as Kyrie's 3-year peak so I will defer to the people on that one.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Don't comment all at once! I was honestly pretty excited to hear people's feedback on this one

[XTC]

Kyrie certainly has the edge when looking at prime/career but what is the verdict on 3-year peaks? 05-07 Arenas landed 3 consecutive All-NBA bids (1 2nd and 2 3rds) which is the exact same as Kyrie minus the consecutive part. I don't think there's a clear answer on which seasons qualify as Kyrie's 3-year peak so I will defer to the people on that one.

Gilbert was a certified bucket, and a killer on the court. Dude dropped 60 on Kobe's head effortlessly. Honestly one of my favourite players of all time.

It's honestly hard to pin point Kyrie's prime, but I'd say 2018, 2019, 2021 (only 20 games played in 2020) is a relatively safe bet. Over those 3 years he has the following stats

PPG - 25.2
RPG - 4.6
APG - 6.1
SPG - 1.3
TO - 2.5
PER - 24.7
BPM - 6.8
TS - 60.3%
League average TS - 56.2% (+4.1%)

Arenas has the following stats over the 3 year run
PPG - 27.7
RPG - 4.3
APG - 5.7
SPG - 1.9
TO - 3.3
PER - 23.0
BPM - 4.8
TS - 57.0%
League Average TS - 53.5% (+3.5%)

Arenas played way more minutes, but Kyrie played in a much faster paced league. If we adjust their stats for PER100 possessions they get the following stats

Kyrie
PPG - 36.8
RPG - 6.7
APG - 8.9
SPG - 2.0
TO - 3.6

Gilbert
PPG - 34.8
RPG - 5.3
APG - 7.2
SPG - 2.4
TO - 4.2

This honestly surprised me... Kyrie is a better scorer, better passer, and turns the ball over far less. I do feel Gilbert is more explosive, he would go on heaters for stretches and look unstoppable. He would also have some stinkers. Kyrie on the other hand was much more consistent, very rarely would he have a bad game, but very rarely would he go off. Kyrie just had a deeper bag, so on a possession by possesion basis he was harder to stop. Gilbert on the other hand was alot like Harden, he relied alot on his jumper + the whistle. If his jumper wasn't falling it was much easier to contain him. I also feel like Arenas had more of a "chuckers" tendency to him, and he had to shoot his way out of a slump vs Kyrie who had a multitude of different ways of scoring.

Gilberts highs are better than Kyrie's, but his lows are also much lower. Both are best suited to be second options, and in that regard give me Kyrie. I feel like he's one of the few ball dominate point guards who has elite off ball abilities.

[penbeast0]

If neither of their personalities get in the way, I take Kyrie as more impactful. He's also been with stronger teams so able to do more in that sense. Picking peak/prime may help avoid the frequent modern injury/resting penalties. But Gil, while a bit of a joker and goofball, doesn't have the episodes of toxic mental issues that Kyrie had with the Celtics and Nets so that may even if up a bit. It's a good comp.

[SHAQ32]

Kyrie certainly has the edge when looking at prime/career but what is the verdict on 3-year peaks? 05-07 Arenas landed 3 consecutive All-NBA bids (1 2nd and 2 3rds) which is the exact same as Kyrie minus the consecutive part. I don't think there's a clear answer on which seasons qualify as Kyrie's 3-year peak so I will defer to the people on that one.

Gilbert was a certified bucket, and a killer on the court. Dude dropped 60 on Kobe's head effortlessly. Honestly one of my favourite players of all time.

It's honestly hard to pin point Kyrie's prime, but I'd say 2018, 2019, 2021 (only 20 games played in 2020) is a relatively safe bet. Over those 3 years he has the following stats

PPG - 25.2
RPG - 4.6
APG - 6.1
SPG - 1.3
TO - 2.5
PER - 24.7
BPM - 6.8
TS - 60.3%
League average TS - 56.2% (+4.1%)

Arenas has the following stats over the 3 year run
PPG - 27.7
RPG - 4.3
APG - 5.7
SPG - 1.9
TO - 3.3
PER - 23.0
BPM - 4.8
TS - 57.0%
League Average TS - 53.5% (+3.5%)

Arenas played way more minutes, but Kyrie played in a much faster paced league. If we adjust their stats for PER100 possessions they get the following stats

Kyrie
PPG - 36.8
RPG - 6.7
APG - 8.9
SPG - 2.0
TO - 3.6

Gilbert
PPG - 34.8
RPG - 5.3
APG - 7.2
SPG - 2.4
TO - 4.2

This honestly surprised me... Kyrie is a better scorer, better passer, and turns the ball over far less. I do feel Gilbert is more explosive, he would go on heaters for stretches and look unstoppable. He would also have some stinkers. Kyrie on the other hand was much more consistent, very rarely would he have a bad game, but very rarely would he go off. Kyrie just had a deeper bag, so on a possession by possesion basis he was harder to stop. Gilbert on the other hand was alot like Harden, he relied alot on his jumper + the whistle. If his jumper wasn't falling it was much easier to contain him. I also feel like Arenas had more of a "chuckers" tendency to him, and he had to shoot his way out of a slump vs Kyrie who had a multitude of different ways of scoring.

Gilberts highs are better than Kyrie's, but his lows are also much lower. Both are best suited to be second options, and in that regard give me Kyrie. I feel like he's one of the few ball dominate point guards who has elite off ball abilities.

What are the shooting splits? Because I definitely feel like Gilbo was on another level or two as a shooter.

[XTC]

Kyrie certainly has the edge when looking at prime/career but what is the verdict on 3-year peaks? 05-07 Arenas landed 3 consecutive All-NBA bids (1 2nd and 2 3rds) which is the exact same as Kyrie minus the consecutive part. I don't think there's a clear answer on which seasons qualify as Kyrie's 3-year peak so I will defer to the people on that one.

Gilbert was a certified bucket, and a killer on the court. Dude dropped 60 on Kobe's head effortlessly. Honestly one of my favourite players of all time.

It's honestly hard to pin point Kyrie's prime, but I'd say 2018, 2019, 2021 (only 20 games played in 2020) is a relatively safe bet. Over those 3 years he has the following stats

PPG - 25.2
RPG - 4.6
APG - 6.1
SPG - 1.3
TO - 2.5
PER - 24.7
BPM - 6.8
TS - 60.3%
League average TS - 56.2% (+4.1%)

Arenas has the following stats over the 3 year run
PPG - 27.7
RPG - 4.3
APG - 5.7
SPG - 1.9
TO - 3.3
PER - 23.0
BPM - 4.8
TS - 57.0%
League Average TS - 53.5% (+3.5%)

Arenas played way more minutes, but Kyrie played in a much faster paced league. If we adjust their stats for PER100 possessions they get the following stats

Kyrie
PPG - 36.8
RPG - 6.7
APG - 8.9
SPG - 2.0
TO - 3.6

Gilbert
PPG - 34.8
RPG - 5.3
APG - 7.2
SPG - 2.4
TO - 4.2

This honestly surprised me... Kyrie is a better scorer, better passer, and turns the ball over far less. I do feel Gilbert is more explosive, he would go on heaters for stretches and look unstoppable. He would also have some stinkers. Kyrie on the other hand was much more consistent, very rarely would he have a bad game, but very rarely would he go off. Kyrie just had a deeper bag, so on a possession by possesion basis he was harder to stop. Gilbert on the other hand was alot like Harden, he relied alot on his jumper + the whistle. If his jumper wasn't falling it was much easier to contain him. I also feel like Arenas had more of a "chuckers" tendency to him, and he had to shoot his way out of a slump vs Kyrie who had a multitude of different ways of scoring.

Gilberts highs are better than Kyrie's, but his lows are also much lower. Both are best suited to be second options, and in that regard give me Kyrie. I feel like he's one of the few ball dominate point guards who has elite off ball abilities.

What are the shooting splits? Because I definitely feel like Gilbo was on another level or two as a shooter.

Kyrie
49.2/40.3/89.7
3PA - 6.8 (35.5% 3PAR)
FTA - 4.1 (21.6 FTR)

Arenas
43.2/36.1/82.6
3PA - 7.2 (35.6% 3PAR)
FTA - 9.2 (45.5% FTR)

Surpringly similiar shooting rates from three, but Kyrie was a near 40% shooter vs 36% for Gilbert.

[XTC]

If neither of their personalities get in the way, I take Kyrie as more impactful. He's also been with stronger teams so able to do more in that sense. Picking peak/prime may help avoid the frequent modern injury/resting penalties. But Gil, while a bit of a joker and goofball, doesn't have the episodes of toxic mental issues that Kyrie had with the Celtics and Nets so that may even if up a bit. It's a good comp.

I'm as big of a Gil fan as anybody, but bro is the embodiment of toxicity.

We not gonna forget he took a **** in Blatche's shoe, placed 4 guns in Crittenton's locker told him to pick one, got suspended, and the first game he came back during introductions he pointed finger guns at teammates. Bro went on a podcast and said he used to openly root against his own teammates when he was on the bench, and I'm sure theres more.

For all Kyrie's mental problems, hes generally well liked by all his teammates, and seems to be a solid lockeroom guy.

[Special_Puppy]

Kyrie was like the ~20th best player in the NBA during his 3-year peak (which was 2017-2019 IMO). Did Gilbert Arenas crack the top 20 during his 3-Year Peak?

[mikejames23]

Just got off of a finals run last year. Kyrie is more like a HoF/ top 20 all tme PG to me. Gilbert's a superstar on a lower seed team, not nearly as good as Kyrie.

[lessthanjake]

Kyrie was like the ~20th best player in the NBA during his 3-year peak (which was 2017-2019 IMO). Did Gilbert Arenas crack the top 20 during his 3-Year Peak?

I think Kyrie was better, but Arenas was actually really good for a brief time period. Just for reference, Arenas ranked 14th and 8th in the NBA in EPM in 2006 and 2007. And he performed well in the playoffs in the one of those two years they made the playoffs (was ranked 7th in playoff EPM that year, and put up 34/6/5 on 60% TS%). He was kind of a flash in the pan, but I watched virtually every Wizards game in that era, and Arenas briefly was genuinely a solidly all-NBA-level player.