Gilbert Arenas pointed out teammates' flaws and refused to root for them when he was on the bench
It doesn’t sound like former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas was the best teammate. During an interview on the No Chill podcast, Arenas explains why he never rooted for teammates — and why he pointed out their flaws — when he was on the bench.
The 37-year-old Arenas kicked things off by saying he doesn’t understand why NBA benches celebrate these days when their teammates make big plays on the court. He then got into his mentality when he was sitting on the bench during games.
Warning: Arenas uses NSFW language in this clip.
Man, Gilbert Arenas really might be the worst teammate of all time. 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/Gc3FCuYaij
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) May 23, 2019
As Arenas explains, “I was angry as f—- as a bench player. I’m not clapping for s—- you did. Like, I’m sorry ... F—- that. I want your position.”
Arenas continues by saying he rooted for his teammates to struggle when he was on the bench because he knew that meant he would enter the game sooner. He even says he would call out teammates to try and get his coach to sub him in sooner.
“I was literally making sure the coach knew his flaws, like, ‘C’mon, dude, get back on defense.’ Like, ‘Damn, man, he keeps getting beat.’ Like, ‘Tighten up, he keeps going left on you.’”
Arenas describes himself as “low-key hating” on the guy in front of him when he was on the bench.
Those comments didn’t sit well with at least one current player. Jared Dudley of the Brooklyn Nets said Arenas’ comments represented a “losing mentality.”
That’s a losing mentality! Don’t care how much money you made or how good of a player is, if u have that mentality the basketball Gods cannot reward you! That’s why having good vets in the NBA are crucial cuz there are players like this. It’s a disease https://t.co/RyoREHNZ1x
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) May 24, 2019
Throughout his 12-year career, Arenas reached some impressive highs in the NBA. He was a three-time All-Star and made three appearances on the All-NBA team. Despite those individual accomplishments, Arenas never won an NBA Championship.
We might know why now.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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