"We crushed both you and France!" Arenas and Cousins hit back at Jokic over EuroLeague and derby comments: "Our castoffs go to Europe!"
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On the popular podcast Gil's Arena, former NBA stars Gilbert Arenas and DeMarcus Cousins fired back aggressively at the Serbian center, pulling no punches when comparing American and European basketball.
Cousins: There's nothing to talk about as long as we keep dominating and winning gold!
DeMarcus Cousins, once one of the NBA's premier big men, didn't hesitate to declare the NBA as the only true benchmark of basketball excellence in the world, dismissing any comparisons with European competitions.
"Where we are right now is the standard of basketball. We set the bar. Until gold medals consistently go to another country—and I'm talking about the way we dominate every year—I don't want to hear anything else. There's no f***ing comparison!" Cousins stated bluntly.
Arenas: Team USA doesn't care about stats—we crushed you and took gold
Three-time NBA All-Star and former Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas took it even further, first responding to Jokic's comments regarding national team pressure and team-first play.
"When he brought up the national team—nobody over there cares about stats, and Team USA didn't care either. That's how we crushed both you and the French—we didn't care about numbers, we just took the gold! If that's what you're talking about..." Arenas began.
However, the remark that caused the biggest stir across European basketball circles centered around American players earning their living in the EuroLeague.
"If we're talking about the EuroLeague, we have no reason to go play there. Our castoffs, the guys who can't make our rosters, go over there and become the best players in the EuroLeague. Americans are the best players in those countries," Arenas boldly concluded.
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