Is Gilbert Arenas overrated?

[Bologna Smasher]

Hes underrated and agent 0 made it cool to wear 0

Put some respect on his name

Arenas is nice and all, but Olden Polynice was who really made it cool to wear number zero.

I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure players like Dame and West chose to wear 0 payin homage to Gilbert

I was just joking.

If you don't know who he is, Olden Polynice is a Kings, Pistons, Clippers and SuperSonics legend. He was famous for pretending to be a cop.

https://popculturedeepdive.com/2016/05/22/the-arrests-of-olden-polynice/

[Clyde Frazier]

Even for those 3 seasons his shooting percentage left something to be desired, even by the standards at the time. He's kinda like D'Antoni where he somewhat ushered in a new style of play but others have since taken it and executed it way better.

This simply isn't true. Arenas actually scored at well above average efficiency for the time due to his 3PT and FT shooting. TS% over those 3 seasons:

04-05: arenas 56.5% / league avg 52.9% (+3.6)
05-06: arenas 58.1% / league avg 53.6% (+4.5)
06-07: arenas 56.5% / league avg 54.1% (+2.4)

Current players who score at similar differentials include lillard, beal, doncic, kawhi, tatum, booker, etc. He was elite.

[HanzGruber]

Look at his numbers compared to harden at the same age. He sucked cause he got hurt

[The_Hater]

Arenas is most likely underrated, he was a precursor to the way the modern PG now plays but received a lot of criticism for playing that style 15 years ago. And he played in an era that ignored his efficiency.

On top of that, he was incredibly clutch and got the line a ton. Extremely tough to guard.

[Shanghai Kid]

He honestly would be even better if he played today. Most of the scoring guards today actually play the style that Gilbert was putting out in 2005-2007.

At age 26, he had made 3 straight All-NBA teams, including 2nd team, when Gerald Wallace fell on his knee. He actually had 3 knee surgeries in a one year period. Given his age, Hall of Fame was a possibility without injuries.

[Richard Miller]

Arenas is nice and all, but Olden Polynice was who really made it cool to wear number zero.

100% 3p shooter in Total NBA 96 iirc And this too:

Watch on YouTube

[SFrush]

Well, your asking 2 questions? Is he overrated? God no. Arenas would rip up the league right now, however injuries robbed him. He was Steph before Steph. He is for all intensive purposes a better version of Lillard.
Now is he good enough to have his number retired? God no.

No he wasn't.

[Karate Diop]

He was fun to watch but he was also overrated... Major headcase.

[tugs]

HIBACHI!!!

That DC Big 3 of Arenas, Jamison, and Hughes was a problem in the East back then.

As for Arenas, he was an assassin. Mix of Lillard, Lou Wil, and Harden. Range and aggressiveness of Dame, foulbait skills and midrange of Lou, bulldozer drives and handles like Harden at the guard position.

[Up-And-Coming]

Arenas is most likely underrated, he was a precursor to the way the modern PG now plays but received a lot of criticism for playing that style 15 years ago. And he played in an era that ignored his efficiency.

On top of that, he was incredibly clutch and got the line a ton. Extremely tough to guard.

I remember his 60 point game against Kobe in his hometown, LA.

Gil was also pretty marketable and even had his own signature shoe, the Adidas Gil Zeros

[draftnightsuit]

He’s not overrated because nobody claims that he was ever a great player. Plus he was a 2nd round pick who overachieved so it’s hard to call him overrated.

[draftnightsuit]

Arenas is most likely underrated, he was a precursor to the way the modern PG now plays but received a lot of criticism for playing that style 15 years ago. And he played in an era that ignored his efficiency.

On top of that, he was incredibly clutch and got the line a ton. Extremely tough to guard.

Gilbert never got any criticism for his playing style. His playing style was just as perfect for the mid 2000s as it is now.

2006 was the year that Gilbert, Kobe, Lebron, Nash, Iverson, Dirk, and Pierce had career highs in PPG. That was the golden age for high volume perimeter scorers.

He got critized for his low b-ball IQ and goofball behavior. The Wizards were a pretty dumb team in general.

[macNcheese3]

Agent 0. He was pretty damn good. After the whole gun locker room incident things went down hill. He was a second round pick as well. Or the last pick in the first round one of those two.

Gilbert Arenas was already washed up when the gun incident happened.

The actually downfall of his career was few years prior when a teammate injured his knee.

Watch on YouTube

Thanks for the clarification. It’s been quite sometime since seeing him suit up.

[picko]

His prime was short but he was pretty great during those three seasons. He also went toe-to-toe against LeBron in a six-game series and more than held his own - not too many guys you can say that about.

I wouldn't say he is overrated. In fact, his prime being so short he is an easy player to forget. Might skew underrated all things considered.

[RSP83]

Watching Harden always reminds me of Arenas. In that Both are explosive scorers from the guard position. Both are natural born scorers. Having watched both guys play, the way I describe both is Arenas is like a raw-version of Harden and slightly smaller. Harden is like a more advanced version of Arenas with a bit more size and mental stability. Arenas is the only guy who I can think of that can run D'Antoni system in Rockets perfectly other than Harden.

[Dan Z]

That fact that people are still talking about him and some are saying that he ushered in the current style of PG play makes me think he's overrated.

Good player and he had three years of play at a high level, but injuries took him out.

[ImSlower]

Well, your asking 2 questions? Is he overrated? God no. Arenas would rip up the league right now, however injuries robbed him. He was Steph before Steph. He is for all intensive purposes a better version of Lillard.
Now is he good enough to have his number retired? God no.

Sorry, I just had to quote you because I love when people type "intensive purposes". Not as common as dominate as an adjective, and it almost makes sense.

[TheProfessor]

Well, your asking 2 questions? Is he overrated? God no. Arenas would rip up the league right now, however injuries robbed him. He was Steph before Steph. He is for all intensive purposes a better version of Lillard.
Now is he good enough to have his number retired? God no.

Sorry, I just had to quote you because I love when people type "intensive purposes". Not as common as dominate as an adjective, and it almost makes sense.

I just googled it

[MrBigShot]

Gil was really, really good. He would be similar to Lillard today.

I don't see anyone propping him up like some sort of transcendant player, who's overrating him?

[Rainwater]

When I see post like these reminds me how young you guys are. Gilbert was a good player, not over hyped at all. Career cut short by injuries. The Dame comparison is pretty accurate.