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At his peak, Gilbert Arenas was one of the top point guards in the 2000s. Before off-court issues and injuries cut his prime short, he feels he could have hung with one of the best ever at the position.
After spending the first two years of his career with the Golden State Warriors, Gilbert Arenas went to the Washington Wizards. It was there that he blossomed into an elite-level talent. However, missing almost the entire 2007-08 season was the beginning of the end for the three-time All-Star.
On the "I AM ATHLETE" podcast, when asked to compare himself to a fellow elite point guard, Arenas said that he feels his age 25 self was better than Steph Curry at that same age.
"If you stop me at 25, Steph aint f***** with me," Arenas said. "You have to stop him at 25. There's no three championships. He's only a two-time All-Star."
In his age 25 season, Arenas averaged 28.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.9 steals for the Washington Wizards. As for Curry at that age, he averaged 24.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 8.5 apg and 1.6 spg.
Is it fair for Gilbert Arenas to compare himself to Steph Curry in this context?
Gilbert Arenas might feel like he's making a fair point, but there are multiple factors to account for. He might have had more accolades at the time, but that doesn't necessarily put him above Steph Curry.
The first thing that needs to be brought up is injuries. Arenas stopped the timeline before his major injury, but failed to mention Curry's battles with the injury bug. At the start of his career, he battled multiple ankle injuries that caused him to miss significant time and hurt his development. If he doesn't miss out on all those games to start his career, there is no telling what kind of player he is by age 25.
Another factor that could be discussed in this argument is roster makeup. When Arenas was with the Washington Wizards, he was paved to be "the guy" for his team. However, when Curry first got to the Golden State Warriors, he had to take a backseat to Monta Ellis, who was a 20-ppg scorer at the time.
Obviously, it's impossible to truly gage who was better at that time, but when looking at the full picture, it's hard to truly back up what Arenas is saying.
