Gilbert Arenas has been more outspoken than ever in his post-NBA career as a podcaster and overall colorful internet prankster. Now, he is also giving the world a true insider’s look into the old-school lifestyle of the league.
With legendary players from the NBA days of yesteryear openly discussing their gripes with today’s game and its stars, Arenas wanted to provide some context to the difference between today’s game.
“When I came into the NBA, 2001, cocaine, boom out of the socks. Boxing out, cocaine patch falls right out of the socks,” Arenas said on the “No Chill Gil” podcast. “You got to think, let’s think about this, think about how high or dumb you have to be to play in an NBA game with it in your sock, not in your locker, not in your bag, in your sock in the game. On the bench, the fourtheenth and fifteenth player, Gatorade bottle, two Bud Lights fill it up drink it, by the fourth quarter, satellite fans.”
Arenas asserted that today’s players don’t mix recreational activities with their playing lifestyle as they did in past years of the NBA, and he explained his theory further.
No Shower Though?
“You’re not going to find your Dennis Rodman mindsets today, I don’t mean on the court,” Arenas continued. “I mean off the court. You’re not going to find players sitting there, leaving the gym, no shower, going to the club, clubbing all night, and got a game tomorrow.
“You’re not in Vegas all night gambling and then flying in that morning to play basketball,” he continued. “These players today are sitting in the gym and will mollywop your a**es for real. You guys were happy alcoholics. Today, you guys are all yellow-eyed bandits.”
No Flex Zone
Arenas took offense at the idea that older players believe they were more skillful, but to him, the latitude to roughhouse on defense was the difference in style and would not be permitted today.
“Here is another argument I heard somebody say about legacy. The ’80s basketball, it was tougher? Shut up, let it go. Eighties cannot compete with the ’90s to now. It is a pointless argument. Bill Lambeer cannot play basketball today, his defense does not work today.
“The things you guys glorify, which is hard fouls, if you look at the people who were brutally hurting people they were not all defensive players,” Arenas added. “A defensive player is playing within the rules, stopping you. The less talented, f**k the talent.”
As usual, Gil has no chill and the older players are definitely mulling over their rebuttal.
