Gilbert Arenas speaks about his bad financial affairs as a young adult, and how he got out of crippling debt.
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Gilbert Arenas was a stellar player for a while – even the great Kobe Bryant had a tough time guarding him. A wily point guard who could draw fouls, Arenas was a threat from the free throw line just as he was from beyond the arc. While he made terrible choices in his personal and financial life, it did not affect him too much on the court.
From blowing all his rookie salary check on extravagance to bringing a gun to the locker room, Agent Zero was never away from the limelight.
As a young black adult who came from Florida, he was always aware of the riches around him, and felt like he was missing out on it. When he first got his paycheck after being drafted, he spent it on a Cadillac Escalade with some “Pimp my Ride” level customization.
He spent so much on it that he could barely drive it around – he had no money for gas. Arenas lived on a college level budget while playing in the best league in the world – such was his deplorable state of affairs.
We’ve seen a lot of athletes go broke even after earning so much, Arenas did not end up like one of them. He turned it around, and although he was not as astute as Shaq, he didn’t up like Allen Iverson either.
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Gilbert Arenas could have been one of the greats – he destroyed it all by himself
No chill Gil was an Adidas sponsored athlete – he even had two shoes that were decent enough. All of that went to smoke when he decided to bring a gun to the locker room – he figuratively shot himself in the foot. No amount of talent can beat out basic human etiquette, and such violations will not be tolerated in the NBA.
Gilbert could have been a hall of famer with the career he’s had. But there is no way the NBA would let something like this slide. Not a lot of athletes can keep their private lives private like Kawhi Leonard. Spending money like he was a millionaireeven before he was, stunting for someone he didn’t know. All of that only brought him ruin, something he dug himself out of.
