Gilbert Arenas’ Bold Proposal: The Radical Solution to NBA’s Defensive Woes

Arenas suggests that the NBA altered its rules to entice top international players, particularly Europeans, to join the league. The surge in scoring, with four players achieving at least 70 points in the last two seasons, has triggered criticism about the state of defense in the NBA. Gilbert Arenas, a former Washington Wizards All-Star guard, proposes a seemingly ‘easy’ fix.

“I know what they can do,” remarked Arenas on a recent episode of his podcast, Gil’s Arena. “Get rid of all Europeans.”

Arenas’ unconventional suggestion left co-host Kenyon Martin in disbelief, with K-Mart earlier asserting that young American players attending college refine their defensive skills in the NCAA, unlike their European counterparts.

“You [Martin] just said it,” continued Arenas. “You go to college to learn defense. What college do Europeans go to? They have no athleticism. They have no speed and no jumping ability. They are a liability on defense. They are 150 Euros in the league today… name the top defenders. None! Just Rudy [Gobert] and the Greek Freak. Other than that, they are offensive players. They aren’t defensive players, right?”

While Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo have won four out of the last six Defensive Player of the Year awards, Arenas argues that besides these two, only Marc Gasol in 2013 has claimed the NBA’s DPOY award. Notably, top European players like Luka Doncic and Dirk Nowitzki have been recognized for their scoring abilities rather than defensive prowess

Arenas contends that the league softened its rules to encourage international players, not just Europeans, to join the NBA, expanding its global reach for business reasons. However, he believes this move has diminished the fierce competition the NBA was known for during the 80s and 90s.

“The NBA took away aggression,” added Arenas. “They took away aggression to open up the EuroLeague. When they first started getting here, it was too rough for them. They didn’t make it. Eventually, they softened the rules. They didn’t soften the rules for the Americans. They softened the rules to open it up international.”

At the beginning of the season, 125 international players from 40 different countries were on NBA opening day rosters, a record high. While the NBA has become more international, attributing the decline in defense solely to European imports might oversimplify a complex issue.