“They Don’t Respect The Athlete”: Gilbert Arenas On Dwyane Wade’s Advice For Entering The TV Landscape

Gilbert Arenas has continued to thrive as an NBA media personality after retiring as a player. He’s one of many athletes who have found success like Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Richard Jefferson, etc. But he says there was one former player who really showed him the ropes when he was first getting into the space. It was none other than three-time champ Dwyane Wade.

That’s right, upon entering the TV landscape as an athlete, Wade gave Arenas some quality advice on how to approach it going into his first year on the job. After all, the athlete-to-analyst pipeline is very real. It’s the natural progression for an athlete, which makes sense, but it isn’t as easy as it looks to break into.

That’s why Wade told Arenas this upon entering the space: 

“One, they don’t respect the athlete. So, understand what they do, take what they do seriously, be a journalist too, add your flavor. Take it just like you took basketball when you first started… Put the hours in, put the work in. Understand what they do to be great,” Arenas shared on the Two Personal Show. 

Being an NBA journalist can be a rewarding career to undertake, but it’s a more challenging job than it appears. It requires a specific skill set that can demand long hours and attention to detail. Even if one is great with those skills, it’s still an incredibly competitive environment. That’s why many journalists start small and work their way up.

Yet, Arenas dove right into podcasting when he entered the NBA space. It was a risky move, but he now has one of the most successful media platforms out there. Gil’s Arena has over 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube, and he has a favorable 4 out of 5 rating on Apple Podcasts. 

Arenas also appeared on ESPN a bunch on the popular show First Take as a guest panelist back in the day. But his recent gambling and arrest debacle has us believing we won’t see him appearing on the show anytime soon.

Arenas on Media Training

Funny enough, this isn’t the first time Arenas has talked about what he studied to train himself for the media. Actually, it wasn’t what he studied, but rather who he studied.

“The Charles Barkleys and the Shaqs. You study what makes Stephen A. Smith good. You watch what made Skip Bayless good. And then you factor in how far they’re pushing the lines. Then, when Shannon [Sharpe] came around, he has his cognac and cigar—plus, some of the stuff he says, I’m like, “You’re allowed to…say that?!’” Arenas told GQ in 2024. 

It sounds like the former Wizards guard has paid a lot of attention to the details when it comes to refining his journalistic career. Much like the best NBA players learn how to be great from their predecessors, Arenas has found success doing the same in the media. It’s a genius move.

All in all, kudos to Arenas for remaining relevant even after retiring. It’s not easy to break into the sports media landscape. But with a $5 million net worth after collecting $160 million in his NBA career, it’s clear that the career was necessary for him to venture into to stay financially afloat.