Years After Allegedly Cheating On Shaunie With Gilbert Arenas’ Ex, Shaquille O’Neal Shares Former Wizard’s ‘Killer Mentality’: “I Was A Demon”

Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the most influential and popular figures in the sport and he has maintained the same even after a decade of retiring from the game. With a huge presence on social media, Shaq regularly takes to social media to share stories and posts. More often than not, these posts have to do with basketball, whether it’s promoting legends of the game or the talent present in the modern NBA. Recently, Big Diesel went on Instagram where he shared a story promoting a video where Gilbert Arenas talks about his mentality during games. This, just years after he allegedly cheated on his ex-wife Shaunie O’Neal with Agent Zero’s ex-girlfriend, Laura Govan.

The rumored affair proved to be a hindrance to Arenas’ game. Once it caught fire, fans around the NBA began chanting Shaq’s name at him, greatly affecting his concentration. So much so, that he admitted to botching a free throw because of how annoying the chants were. However, despite all these rumors, both O’Neal and Govan have discredited them.

Shaquille O’Neal hypes up Gilbert Arenas and his mentality

Gilbert Arenas at one point in time was one of the top players in the NBA. An elite point guard, Arenas was incredible and could do it all on the court. But, his skills aside, the other reason he was so good was his killer mentality. Agent Zero was obsessed with winning, some may even say his competitiveness was on the level of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Recently, his mentality was given props by Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. Taking to Instagram to promote the same, Shaq shared a video of Arenas himself talking about why he was so good.

In the video, Arenas describes himself as a “demon”. One who was only focused on dominating his opponent, regardless of the situation he was in. As he explains, it did not matter whether his team was winning or losing, or whether he was facing the No.1 team or the No.2 team. He knew how good he was and he knew that he trained more than anybody he faced.

“I was a demon! I didn’t care about the score and I didn’t look to see if we was up 20…down 20…who was in front of me…if it was a girl. I’m trying to score 100 on you. That was my whole part. I trained way too much to even give you a thought in your brain that we’re on the same level! I don’t care if you was ranked No.1 in the state…No.2 in the state…none of that matters to me! Because at the end of the day…I know I train more than you!”

There is no doubt that No Chill Gil was a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, his ability took a hit after a slew of injuries. He was never the same after that and left the NBA after 11 seasons, playing for the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, and Memphis Grizzlies.

LeBron James forced Arenas to take “Black Ops” training inspired by Kobe Bryant

Towards the end of his time in the league, Gilbert Arenas had many battles with LeBron James. Battles that left him mentally drained, as The King often played mind games with him. However, Arenas was never one to take things lying down and as such put himself through what he called “Black Ops” training.

A workout that was purely physical in nature, which in turn improved his mentality. Something he decided to do after being inspired by Kobe Bryant and his “Mamba Mentality”.

This just goes to show how much Arenas loved the game of basketball. An ordinary player would have bowed down to the greatness of King James. But, No Chill Gil was not an ordinary player.