Michael Jordan and Gilbert Arenas (Image Credits: Getty Images)
Michael Jordan, widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time, had a remarkable professional career. The Chicago Bulls legend played 15 seasons in the NBA, achieving several milestones. Furthermore, Jordan, who was recently criticized by Isiah Thomas, played a vital role in popularizing basketball and the NBA worldwide throughout his career. However, a former NBA player has a controversial take on Jordan’s legacy.

In a recent episode of the “Gil’s Arena” show, host Gilbert Arenas discussed Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards’ remarks about Jordan and older-generation NBA players. Arenas agreed with Edwards’ comments and made some shocking claims about the legendary player.

Arenas believes that Jordan’s dominance was due to the lack of equally talented opponents during his era. The former NBA player believes Jordan never faced any of the top 5 shooting guards of all time in his career.

“Jordan is a 10, and it’s like a car. All of Jordan’s competition in that era did not even have the physical tools to keep up with him. So he was basically a Bugatti, and everybody else was a Honda Civic. All the shooting guards were 6’4″, and they had no jumping ability, so those he went against weren’t talented. Meaning they weren’t athletic enough to keep up with him. Today, everybody has a 40″ vertical that can jump with me.” Arenas mentioned at the 27-minute mark of the video mentioned above.

Arenas stated that modern players are more skilled and provide stricter competition compared to Jordan’s opponents, who lacked the ability to jump and were not athletic enough to keep up with him.

Anthony Edwards’ Controversial Comments About Michael Jordan

During an interview with the Wall Street Journal on August 19th, Anthony Edwards mentioned that Michael Jordan was the only player with exceptional skills during his era. He also spoke about the legendary player Kobe Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020. The Timberwolves noted that fans were excited about the skills that Bryant and Jordan possessed, which are now common among players today.

I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it. They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. (Jordan) was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe, they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill. Anthony Edwards said.

Despite controversial statements from Arenas and Edwards, Jordan has accomplished enough in his professional career to be remembered as the greatest player in NBA history. It is rare for any NBA player to achieve the six titles, five MVP honors, six Finals MVP awards, and fourteen NBA All-Star appearances that the Bulls icon has.