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Gilbert Arenas Rips Dennis Rodman for Claiming He Could “Lock Up LeBron James”: “80s People Think Fouling Was Defense. Well Yeah, I Could Just Wrestle Him”

Published 02/03/2022, 5:30 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

There has always been a never-ending battle between the different eras of the NBA. Earlier, Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman had claimed that he could restrict 18-time All-Star LeBron James, if he were to defend him. This opinion of his was not met with a lot of kindness, as fans ripped apart Michael Jordan’s former teammate. Among those who totally dismissed his claim, was former NBA star Gilbert Arenas.

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Once forming an iconic Bulls trio with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman is a 2-time All-Star. Known as ‘The Worm’, he was known for his defensive capabilities, and rebounding prowess. In addition, he has more NBA championships than counterpart LeBron James. The ‘King’ is one of the most accomplished attackers in the game, and is widely regarded as the greatest forward of all time.

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Gilbert Arenas destroys Dennis Rodman for ‘lock up’ comments on LeBron James

40-year-old Gilbert Arenas is self-admittedly a fan of LeBron James. A former veteran with the Washington Wizards, Arenas was in the NBA for over a decade. He was a 3-time All-Star, and a more than capable guard in his prime. Arenas recently heard Rodman’s bold statements in an interview. The 5-time NBA champion once believed that he, along with Jordan and Pippen, could ‘lock up’ James, and that the game had lost its authenticity. However, Gilbert didn’t take to these words too kindly.

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Appearing on Vlad TV, Arenas tore down the comparison between the generations of basketball. “Younger Grant Hill couldn’t, he didn’t shoot very well,” he said. “But he got to the basket like no other. So if you couldn’t deal with prototype-1, what makes you think you can deal with the 2010-20 prototype of guard? You can’t.” 

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He proceeded to bash the generation of basketball players gone by. “Like 80s people think fouling was defense. Well yeah, I could just wrestle him. That’s not defense, he’s just fouling me and hoping that I don’t wanna do it anymore.”

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If only we could alter time to get ourselves a potential LeBron James vs Dennis Rodman duel. Do you agree with what Gilbert Arenas had to say? Comment below.

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Written by:

Sankalp Harikrishnan

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Sankalp Harikrishnan is an NBA and Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He aspires to pursue Sports Journalism and has represented his institution in cricket, badminton, soccer and table tennis. Sankalp idolises Roger Federer and Stephen Curry, and has an inherent love for statistics.
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