It’s been almost a decade since Gilbert Arenas last stepped on the court. The 3x All-Star had legendary stints at Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, and Washington Wizards before retiring in Shanghai in 2013. Recalling an interesting incident, Arenas revealed how LeBron James’ actions forced him to take ‘Black-Ops’ training inspired by Kobe Bryant for missing free throws. Averaging 29.3 points per game, it seemed like the Wizards star had a great career ahead of him. However, it was LeBron and the Cavaliers in the playoffs first round which made Arenas rethink his play.
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The Cavs defeated Washington 4-2 in the series and advanced to the next round. Arenas, who had an 80% success rate in shooting free throws, missed two clutches due to LeBron’s trash talk. The Wizards were ultimately out of their championship run. However, Arenas knew he’d have to practice harder for the upcoming games. This was when he decided to take Black Ops training inspired by the Mamba, Kobe Bryant.
Gilbert Arenas ended up taking Black Ops training after being humiliated by LeBron James
In a video on Twitter posted by LeBronchitis, Gilbert Arenas admitted to having taken over 2000 free throws to improve his game. Before the fated playoff game in 2006, Arenas was playing terrifically well. He scored 36 points and 11 assists while shooting at a %50 clip in the game before. While trying to lead his team to victory on the free throw line, LeBron whispered something in Arenas’ ears. These words seemed to have a significant impact on Arenas. He recalled the iconic moment, narrating from LeBron’s point of view:
“You know, if you miss these, that’s game.”
Consecutive free throw misses followed, which cost the Wizards the playoff series. King James effectively played mind games with Arenas. This forced him to take Black Ops training, inspired by Kobe Bryant. Elaborating on his training, Arenas mentioned running to a blue house on a beach for more than four hours. Describing the experience, he said:
“This was just all physical…We’re gonna keep working out until one of us pass out. Until you bleed. When you throw up blood, you keep going. And that was the mentality.”
LeBron had dudes going into black ops training pic.twitter.com/rxTjo23BxT
— ²³☄️ (@BronGotGame) June 1, 2023
Although not as fruitful as it should have been, Arenas’ career was decent. In one game at the Staples Center against the Lakers, he scored a career-high 60 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Arenas holds the record for the highest points scored in the Wizards franchise, a feat he shares with Bradley Beal.
King James once asked for a second opinion from Gilbert Arenas over his son Bronny James
By the time he retired, Gilbert Arenas was known for his explicit opinions on NBA players, whether from the past or the present. He also had a keen eye for scouting young players, a reason why LeBron chose to contact him for his son Bronny.
Bronny was 5’10” by the time he reached high school, shorter than LeBron James at the same time. This concern led him to consult arenas on Bronny’s game. Arenas later took Bronny to train with Scottie Clark, who is older than Bronny.
In a one-on-one with Scottie, Bronny went to hit 5-0 in just about a few minutes. Arenas was convinced of James Jr.’s talent and was confident of his success at the highest levels.
