Gilbert Arenas is one of the most notorious players to play in the NBA, his antics are probably more famous to this generation than his excellence in basketball
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After playing two years with the Arizona Wildcats and making it to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in first and First-team All-Pac-10 in the next, the 6’4 point guard would enter the 2001 NBA Draft after leading Arizona to the national championship game, where they lost to the Blue Devils, 82–72.
The future 3x All-Star could just go as high as the 31st pick in the second round for the Golden State Warriors, but would soon become one of the best scorers in the league. Agent Zero believes he alongside Allen Iverson has changed how the point guards play the game, and there are more hybrid guards in the league since their dominance as the team’s leading scorers.
Not only that, but he could have been one of the best guards in the NBA ever, if he stayed on the trajectory he was in, in the first 6 years of his career. But he couldn’t after one of the craziest locker room incidents that could have ended with an NBA getting shot or killed.
When Gilbert Arenas brought guns into the locker room and ruined two careers for good
After averaging well over 27 points from 2004-07 and having two injury-plagued seasons after that, Arenas drifted off from rhythm and had played just 32 games in the regular season averaging 22.6 points a game when an incident between him and his teammate Javaris Crittenton wrapped the season and eventually the career for both the players.
Have a read at one of the most mind-boggling stories in NBA in this thread of Tweets which richly explains the incident that took place just because of a card game.
At some point, you’ve probably taken a cards game too seriously
But it’s safe to say none of us have ever taken it to the level that Javaris Crittenton & Gilbert Arenas did back in 2009
This is how a heated card game almost led to a deadly gun fight in an NBA locker room
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
1/ At the time, Arenas was the face of the franchise and leading scorer for the Wizards
Crittenton was a young journeyman, on his 3rd team in 3 seasons
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
2/ On a team flight, a group of Wizards were engaged in a game of Booray
Booray has been the card game of choice for NBA players for decades
And with the deep pockets of these athletes, the stakes are always high
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
3/ Javaris was getting absolutely killed that flight
Gilbert, who wasn’t in the game at the time, woke up from his nap to see the young player in pure agony
Gilbert, the alpha dog of the team, smelled blood
He walked over to the card game, and ruthlessly berated Javaris
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
4/ Gilbert kept chirping and Javaris kept losing
But frustrations came to a climax when another teammate, JaVale McGee, refused to give Javaris a chance to win his money back
As Javaris lamented, Gilbert got one last chirp in
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
5/ Javaris snapped, threatening to shoot Gilbert
Gilbert called the bluff, claiming he’d bring Javaris the gun to shoot him with
And Gilbert was true to his word
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
6/ At practice 2 days later, Gilbert walked into the locker room and lay 4 unloaded pistols out in front of his stalls
Javaris responded by pulling a pistol of his own, this one loaded
He cocked it and pointed it at Gilbert
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
7/ The rest of the team, who had been laughing, froze before swiftly darting from the room, leaving just Gilbert and Javaris one-on-one
Luckily, no triggers were pulled but both players would be suspended for the remainder of the season
Both were slapped with gun charges
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
8/ This turned out to be the end of Javaris Crittenton’s NBA career
Gilbert would follow just 2 years later
Shortly after Gilbert’s retirement, Javaris would be convicted of manslaughter for accidentally killing a 22-year old mother of four
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmsmith_) May 12, 2022
