DeMar Derozan recently sat down with Gilbert Arenas to talk about his free agency, Kobe, and even what it’s like to play Olympics basketball.
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DeRozan and Arenas both had experience with being on Olympic rosters as the new Bulls guard/forward was a member of the squad that won gold in Rio in 2016, and Arenas was briefly on the Team USA roster in 2006.
Of course, Olympics basketball is a completely different environment than the NBA as the very rules of basketball are drastically different. However, another aspect of playing for the nation, one we sometimes forget about, is the fact that players who regularly compete against each other are now all teamed up with the same goal in mind. Oftentimes, you get to see a completely different side of some players as Derozan explained to Arenas.
DeMar DeRozan And Gilbert Arenas Discuss Who Had The Worst Poker Face In Team USA
During the Olympics practices and training camps, players get a lot of time in between to bond and do whatever they like. Whether it’s playing video games, watching something on TV, or playing cards, there’s always something to do.
Gilbert Arenas got the chance to work with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade when he was on the 2006 squad before being cut, and so he definitely got to experience some of those things.
DeRozan, of course, being a part of Team USA definitely got to see what it’s like to be a part of that culture, and he spoke about how you could find out completely new things about players through these fun games and stuff. For example, both Gilbert Arenas and DeMar DeRozan spoke about how Carmelo Anthony has the worst poker face out of anyone.
The two start talking about different experiences on Olympics teams at about 11:24 in the video, and the conversation shifts to Carmelo Anthony’s poker game at about 13:20.
