Paul George invited retired NBA star Gilbert Arenas, On the latest episode of Podcast P, where the two discussed on different topics. The NBA All-Stars also spoke about Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Arenas gave an insight into his first memory of the four-time NBA MVP.
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The former Washington Wizards star revealed that he would gamble with the Cleveland Cavaliers players. According to Arenas, he had a good rapport with the team, courtesy of Larry Hughes, a former Wizards star who played for the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008. He revealed James did not bother gambling,
“[James] actually wasn’t involved in the gambling. He would just be watching games, like, ‘That ain’t gonna work over there, man. You need to write that down. I ain’t running that play.’ And then we used to play, which was the most expensive game that I’ve ever played in Booray, which is weird because everybody was broke.”
Arenas further revealed that each hand would go up to $100,000 and even $500,000 at times, and the former Cavaliers star, Damon Jones, still owes him “rent money.”
The Wizards and Cavaliers players had grown to know each other well as they met each other in the regular season and the playoffs in three straight seasons between 2005 and 2007. James and the Cavaliers won all three series, losing only four times to Arenas and the Wizards in 16 playoff games.
Gilbert Arenas’ role in helping LeBron James’ son Bronny
Gilbert Arenas played a crucial role in LeBron James’ son Bronny refining his game in high school. He revealed that the Lakers superstar reached out to him when his son was in eighth grade and claimed he was worried about his development as a player. James asked to train Bronny, and Arenas agreed to it. Talking about seeing the youngster before training him, the former Wizards star said,
“I went [to his workouts], I am watching him. I hit [James] back [on the phone] and said, ‘[You and Bronny] probably got the same speed, probably got the same passing skills, IQ damn near the same. At this age, he probably jumps a little bit higher, probably a little bit stronger. Can definitely shoot and dribble better than you.'”
Arenas trained Bronny and Louisville star Skyy Clark at the UCLA Bruins’ basketball facility. The latter was a year older and was more developed than James’ son. Describing how the workouts went, Arenas said,
“[During the workouts] Bronny is getting beat on and I was like, ‘Man stand up for yourself.’ And then the look he gave me. He got the ball, came down the court, and Euro-stepped while palming the ball. Just palmed it like Kawhi and went to the rim. And I was like, ‘Oh s**t.’ And then he ran the crew. 5-0’d all of them. And then I called LeBron [and told him], ‘Yeah, you ain’t gotta worry.'”
After spending four years at Sierra Canyon High School, Bronny joined the University of Southern California to play for the Trojans. He’s had a slow start to his career in college basketball as he continues to get back to full strength after suffering a heart attack in July 2023. However, his performances are picking up. Arenas played a critical role in developing the young star’s game and James is undoubtedly grateful for it.
