The Greatest NBA Beat Writer Begs to Differ on KAT vs. Gilbert Arenas

Me vs. Krawczynski on Gil vs. KAT

I realize Game 1 of the NBA Finals was a classic, but we’ve got some important business to settle…

For those who do not follow the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jon Krawczynski of the Athletic is the best NBA beat writer of the last decade. He knows a lot about Karl-Anthony Towns, for obvious reasons, and wrote a rebuttal to my assertion that peak Gilbert Arenas was better. Shockingly, I still think I’m correct, but let’s hear Jon out.

As a friend and admirer of Ethan, and as someone who has covered and gotten to know KAT very well throughout his career, I feel compelled to chime in.

Maybe we have to better define the premise of the piece, in terms of what you mean by the better player. If we're measuring by the absolute peak of their powers, Arenas could be the choice. The numbers he put up were very impressive and his individual skill level cannot be argued. But c'mon. Kobe? Nash? I know you're not arguing that Gil was the better player among those three because of true shooting percentage in a short window.

But if you want to, let's do it. Those 3 great Arenas years on mediocre teams were .565, .581, .565. Excellent.

KAT's TS for his CAREER: .624. He has never been BELOW .590 in his entire career. Yes, a higher percentage of Gil's shots came from 3, but KAT is a much better 3-point shooter.

What defines a great player, in my opinion, is the ability to do it over and over and over again. Gil did it for three years. For the Wizards. Arguing that he was a true "face of the franchise" when the "franchise" is the Wizards is preposterous. They won 45, 42 and 41 games in those three seasons and one (1) playoff series.

Sure, some of the reason he didn't do it longer was injury. But he was also such a wild card that he likely would have played himself out of the league even if healthy.

Now let's look at KAT. One of your arguments for Gil is he pioneered the scoring point guard. Fair. But KAT was on the forefront of the Stretch 5 revolution, which deserves as much recognition, in my opinion, when it comes to influencing the game. KAT also very much was the best player on the 2022 Wolves team that made the playoffs, when he "dragged the likes" of D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the playoffs. In the West.

He also was one of the biggest, literally and figuratively, reasons the Wolves beat the Suns in the first round last year and the Nuggets in the second round. Yes, Ant was the best player on that team and Gobert was also impactful defensively, but KAT's play on both ends was the biggest driver of those playoff victories. Arenas NEVER came close to being as impactful as the playoffs as KAT was last season, or this season.

Towns certainly has his faults, especially defensively and fouling. But he has long been one of the very best rebounders in the league. One of the very best 3-point shooting big men in the league. For his CAREER: 23.1p, 11.1r 52/40/84. Those numbers TROUNCE Arenas.

Was KAT a problem defensively against the Pacers? Absolutely. But he also put up 25 and 12 per game in the series and was the most consistent and reliable offensive player on the Knicks.

KAT has been a very, very good player in this league for 10 years. He has made the playoffs with all different iterations of teams, including teams that had D'Angelo Russell and Rudy Gobert playing prominent roles. He has changed his role on teams and changed positions on the floor to accommodate teammates, both in Minnesota and New York. Did Gil ever do anything even close to that?

Were Arenas's scoring numbers better in those three seasons than KAT at his peak? Sure. But if we're talking who has been the better basketball player? To me, it's not an argument. KAT has better overall numbers and has won so much more than Arenas ever came close to doing.

I'm probably biased. Unlike most people, I genuinely like KAT. Yes, he went to my daughter's soccer game. Maybe I'm playing the big brother role here, so take it all with a grain of salt. I just had to get that off my chest.

Well said. I think where we can agree, in this apples to oranges comparison of scoring guard vs. scoring big, is that Karl-Anthony Towns has already submitted a better cumulative career than Gilbert Arenas. I’d also co-sign Jon’s assertion that, “KAT was on the forefront of the Stretch 5 revolution.” I guess my issue with Towns is, as much as he’s been on the forefront of the Stretch 5 revolution, he’s also showcased its limitations.