Being a player for the NBA comes with a lot of perks. Besides riches, they get recognition and fame, which includes attention from women. The thing is, not every player is equal, and what kind of attention one gets depends largely on the team in which they are playing.
Wilt Chamberlain, for example, apparently slept with “20,000” women and played in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Los Angeles throughout his career — three big, marketable cities.
Gilbert Arenas, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as fortunate. In a chat on FUBO TV, the 3x All-Star explained some of the glaring differences between large markets and big markets, first discussing his own experience with females during his NBA career.
It’s different because it wasn’t a lot. I got fooled when I came into the NBA. When you come into the NBA, you’re like, ‘The women are going to be coming.’ They didn’t want no second-round player who sat at the end of the bench.
He went on to, rather bluntly, point out that only a few certain “magnet teams” really get the best of it, and other players in small markets are left with something completely different.
I’m pretty sure Golden State, that’s a magnet team. Lakers, LeBron, that’s a magnet team. Ain’t nobody waiting for Utah or Denver Nuggets. Nobody’s outside waiting for Rudy Gobert; come on, that’s not gonna happen. Nothing against Rudy, but there ain’t a bunch of models waiting for that team. I’m pretty sure Brooklyn Nets when they pop into town, I’m pretty sure – they got a lot of money on that team. Memphis Grizzlies – they probably got two fans out there.
This reality really helps explain why so many players today are gravitating towards the same few big market teams — Lakers, Clippers, Nets, Warriors, etc.
The fact is, a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves doesn’t generate nearly the amount of attention or buzz as a team like the Miami Heat. As a result, the experience for the players on each team is vastly, wildly different.
Arenas, who played in D.C. for most of his career seems to understand what life is like on the smaller team. And he had to do without much of the special perks that the likes of Wilt, Jordan, and LeBron have enjoyed.
