Gilbert Arenas was one of the NBA’s brightest stars by age 25. Under his resume were multiple all-star appearances, MVP votes, playoff success and a massive contract handed to him by the Washington Wizards.
A mere five years later, Arenas played in his final season in the league. [sidebar]
The story of Arenas is one of the more interesting ones to come out of the NBA in the past decade. It was punctuated by a 2010 gun charge after Arenas brought a pistol to the Wizards’ locker room.
Arenas has mostly avoided traditional media since retiring, but routinely generated controversy with Instagram videos and comments. Now, he’s returned to the mainstream as co-host of Out of Bounds, a YouTube talk show by Complex News. The daily program, co-hosted by former adult star Mia Khalifa, debuted this week and takes an edgy look at the sporting world.
We caught up with Arenas to discuss the show, fallout from his gun charge, the Toronto Raptors and more.
SN: Why did you feel this show was a good fit for you?
Arenas: Because I get to be myself. When you’re an athlete who’s an analyst, you have to follow guidelines. I feel when you’re following some type of guideline of who you’re supposed to be, you really don’t get to tell the truth. You don’t get to tell your feelings or your opinions, because of your reputation.
What do you hope to accomplish with it?
To give another side of sports. I’m funny by nature and have a lot of knowledge of sports because I was a professional. Just giving another take for fans to understand that most of the stuff that comes out of some of these analysts’ mouths isn’t actually correct or true because someone is speaking in their ear.
Has the first week of shows been a learning experience?
Yes, just the little things. It’s not as easy as it looks. When you’re sitting at home watching Shaq and those guys up there, you think, ‘Anybody can do it.’ It takes practice, it takes time being around the camera, understanding posture and all the little, minor details that you don’t usually pay attention to.
You were one of the first superstar athletes to publicly embrace the Internet. I remember seeing your blog for NBA.com. What about that medium initially attracted you?
It was something new. I remember a couple players did NBA diaries, and someone said, ‘You should do it. You have a great personality.’ I said, ‘You know what, if I have time, I’ll try it.’ I did a couple segments and people loved it, so I stuck with it.
Are you still following the NBA closely?
Yes. There was a time in my life where I stopped watching sports altogether because I knew the backstory of it is not what it seems. It’s more business than it was the actual sport. It’s still the same, but I enjoy it because the players are out there still busting their assess. Even though they might not realize that they are replaceable at any moment; you can be bought, you can be sold. But there’s still the aspect of the league itself. Those guys are still out there doing what I was doing. Playing your heart out for the game you love.
What are your thoughts on how the game is played now, with a much higher focus on offence?
I understand what the NBA is doing. You’re bringing in more money, more excitement. When you hear the complaints from the ’80s players — ‘The NBA is too soft, they can never last’ — well, players adapt. They are bigger, stronger, faster now, so no matter what rule you put in, the guys are going to be more confident. Unfortunately, they’re just adapting to the rule change of ticky-tack fouls and all this. They’re just playing the game on how it’s being called. The scoring is going up — they’re not necessarily better players, it’s just that the way the rules are, it’s creating more scoring and more excitement.
How do you view the last half of your career, on the court?
When I got hurt in 2007, it was like Joel Embiid right now. He’s getting his chance to play and he’s frustrated that they are holding his minutes. … I wished Washington would have held back my minutes. But just like Embiid, you don’t want to hear that. You think you’re ready. You think you’re healthy. You just want to go out there and play. Sitting on that bench is not an option — if you feel you’re 70 per cent, that’s better than sitting on that bench. But maybe it’s not the best that you’re out there. I wished I would have been held back and [the team] just not let me, an alpha male, dominate the locker room, whereas it was like, ‘No, you’re going to play me.’
I had three surgeries in 14 months. That was the end of my career. It wasn’t the so-called gun charge and all that. After that gun charge is where my mind switched from giving the NBA my all. I thought I would never play hard for the NBA again after that. When I went to Orlando, I actually had a moment where I said, ‘You know what, I can do what I love again.’ It’s fresh, it’s new and then [head coach] Stan Van Gundy — I understand now what he did. He wanted to play the guy he was more comfortable with. That was Jameer Nelson. So, he put me on the bench. Understanding now versus then, mentally I just broke. I just didn’t want to play anymore.
What do you mean when you say after the gun charge you didn’t want to give your all?
I worked out three times a day. All I knew was basketball. All I did was study basketball. My coaching staff didn’t watch more film than me. No one was in the gym more than me. My 9 to 5 was putting my all into the sport.
To see how it turned out [after the gun charge]. To throw someone under the bus. I have a book coming out that tells the truth, so I can’t really get too much into it. But the way people turned. The 100 things I did right were all washed away with one bad decision. That’s all everyone remembered me for. It was like, ‘Oh yeah, he adopted a kid a whose family was burned in a house fire. But yeah, that’s the same guy with the gun charge.’ Everything got overshadowed by a gun charge. It was like, ‘What’s the point?’
Did you feel ostracized or blackballed from the league?
No, I wasn’t blackballed. I think everyone was mistaken with that. I played for Orlando. I got signed in Memphis. The point is, I didn’t want to do it anymore. I kept getting calls every year, but I didn’t want to do it anymore. In life when you make a mistake, they tell you to move forward. But they don’t let you move forward because they keep bringing back the past. So, every time I see my name in something, it always said, ‘Gun charge. Gun this. Gun that.’ So how am I supposed to move forward if you’re not going to help me? Not going to let me move forward.
Looking back on everything, are you at peace with your NBA career?
Yes, actually I am. I got to play the game that I love. It’s one of those things where I can’t look at how it started or finished. I got to play the game I loved and there are so many people in this world who don’t get to do what they want in life. I got to. So that’s all I can be thankful for.
I have to ask about the Raptors. You clowned them on Instagram in recent post-seasons when they played the Wizards and Cavaliers. What do you make of the current core of Toronto players?
My thing with any organization is if you’re not there to actually win a championship, you’re doing an injustice to those players and those fans. The Raptors have a great core. You’re right there — top two, top three in the East, three years running. All you need is one piece. I know it’s frustrating that the owner is not going out there to get that one piece. As players, that’s the frustrating part too. They’re like, ‘We’re here to win championships, not just make it to the playoffs. Our legacy is built on championships. Built on winning. The fans are looking at us like we’re not good enough. Well, yeah, we’re not good enough when other teams are going to keep loading up and we’re not doing anything.’
The Raptors’ core was young players, now they’re young adults. That core is getting older. Something needs to happen. They have to make a decision: Do we have to trade these players and get younger and start the development over again, when that’s not necessarily how it’s supposed to work?
Wasn’t the acquisition of Serge Ibaka last season a move to address that?
They still need more. Ibaka is a great addition, but he needs someone to help out [Kyle] Lowry and [DeMar] DeRozan. You need a third guy who can put the ball in the basket. I thought that was going to be [Terrence] Ross when he first stepped on the scene. But he was just another piece. The Raptors need one more stud. One more guy who can really go. Because then, it won’t be so much pressure on Lowry and DeRozan to perform in 82 games a year, which is impossible.
If you look at Golden State, they grabbed a player who nobody paid attention to, but he’s going to be a great piece for them. That’s Nick Young. He showed it Tuesday night. He’s a starter in this league, but they got a starter coming off the bench. When you got [Andre] Iguodala and now Nick Young coming off the bench, it makes them that much more difficult to beat.
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