“Kobe Bryant Said I’ll Shut You Down”: Gilbert Arenas Reveals Mentality For 60-Point Game Against the Black Mamba

Gilbert Arenas is more of an afterthought in NBA history today, but during the prime Kobe Bryant years, he was a problem for the whole NBA.

The name of Gilbert Arenas has been trending recently in connection to Ja Morant and his gun controversy. After all, it was Arenas who did it first in the Wizards locker room during the 2009-10 season.

However, most parallels between the two premier guards end there. While Morant is more of an athletic freak, Arenas was a legitimate scorer who got buckets on everyone in the league.

During his 2 best seasons in Washington, Gil averaged over 28 points per game. He earned All-NBA team selections and was recognized as a certified menace.

Also Read – “Anyone Who Clashed With Kobe Bryant Was Lazy”: Gilbert Arenas Launches an Indirect Attack On Shaquille O’Neal

However, knee injuries cut short what promised to be an exhilarating prime for all NBA fans. Before you knew it, Arenas was out of the league for good.

Gilbert Arenas recalls the circumstances of his 60-point game against Kobe Bryant

Gilbert Arenas was recently a guest with Dan Patrick on the latter’s show, promoting his new podcast. The interview started off with a segment about the Ja Morant gun controversy.

They then moved on to talking about the NBA prospects of Bronny James. Patrick then asked Arenas about his thought process during his career-high 60-point game against Kobe Bryant and his Lakers. Arenas replied thus:

“It’s not a top-3 performance. Nothing was standing out like a Klay Thompson game, like he’s on fire. I had 20-odd free throws, missed the shot to go to overtime. I was very big in overtime. You know, I was surprised that I had 60.”

“Before the game, Kobe was always like ‘I’m guarding Gilbert, Imma shut him down’. It’s always the mind game. ‘I’m gonna shut him down, you guard him’. Whenever he did that, I always went into iso basketball. That’s the competitive part.”

Also Read – Gilbert Arenas recalls memorably talking trash to Kobe Bryant after dropping 60 points on his head

Arenas got spooked by LeBron James in a crucial playoff game

King James had a couple of playoff battles with Arenas’ Wizards teams in his initial playoff runs. There was a time when Arenas went to the line for a couple of freebies in Game 6, with Washington up by 1.

Gilbert missed his first shot, following which James would tap him on the shoulder and say ‘If you miss these free throws, you know who’s gonna win.’ And as luck would have it, Arenas bricked his second shot as well.