Gilbert Arenas was one of the most explosive scorers in his prime, hence the “Hibachi” nickname. He was a player known for catching fire in a hurry. And it seems like this tendency has translated into his current line of work as a podcaster, as he hasn't been shy to drop some fiery takes in his podcast, No Chill with Gilbert Arenas.
Firing back against some of the criticisms old heads have towards the modern NBA, Arenas recently said that given the quality of basketball these days, players in the 1980s would have a hard time competing against today's players. In the process of making his argument, however, Bill Laimbeer caught a stray from the former Washington Wizards guard.
“80s cannot compete with 90s, 2000s, and now. It is a pointless argument,” Arenas said. “Bill Laimbeer cannot play basketball today. His defense does not work today.”
Gilbert Arenas proceeded to back up his take by saying that Laimbeer and the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons' kind of defensive physicality wouldn't fly in the modern game.
“The thing that you guys glorifying, which is hard fouls – not better defense. If you look at the people who were brutally hurting people, they were not all defensive players. A defensive player is playing within the rules stopping you,” Arenas added.
“80s cannot compete with 90s, 2000s, and now. It is a pointless argument. Bill Laimbeer cannot play basketball today, his defense does not work today.”
– Gilbert Arenas 🗣️👀
Thoughts? 🤔pic.twitter.com/M9nuKMM86g
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 23, 2023
Gilbert Arenas may have a point; the NBA has taken a lot of steps to ensure that unnecessary contact won't go unpunished. In addition, the Malice in the Palace in 2004 motivated the league even further to curtail violent acts on the court.
Still, to say that Bill Laimbeer, if given a time machine, wouldn't be able to play in the NBA today is a bit of a stretch. While his lasting legacy on the court will always be his brutal physicality, he was also a solid rebounder and a solid floor-spacing big man for the Bad Boys Pistons during his time. It's not too difficult to envision some of Laimbeer's skills translating well in today's game.
But Gilbert Arenas is right in that this is a pointless argument. As fun as it is to talk about these kinds of hypotheticals, at the end of the day, it is a futile endeavor to judge players of different eras against one another.
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