Being teammates in college usually helps bond players together for a long period of time. Before a lot of players make it to the NBA, they choose to attend a collegiate program to help develop their skills and play organized basketball at a slightly more competitive level before entering into the NBA.
We have seen a lot of players in the NBA today who played alongside each other in college. For example, Cam Reddish, RJ Barrett, and Zion Williamson all played together at Duke before they entered the NBA in 2019. Playing in college together is usually a bonding experience for players.
But sometimes, it can lead to a bit of competitiveness among former teammates. Recently, former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas spoke about the fact that he didn’t understand why his former Arizona teammate Richard Jefferson was picked ahead of him in the 2001 NBA Draft, noting that he was the primary option, whereas Richardson was perhaps third or fourth in the pecking order.
Not willing to take this lightly, Richard Jefferson gave a lengthy response to Gilbert Arenas. He noted that he would never deny Arenas’ talent, it was Arenas’ attitude that lowered his stock. He called Arenas immature and noted that it was this immaturity that made teams hesitant to select him in the first round, and that is why he fell to the second round of the draft.
“Today we’re going to address that clip by Gilbert Arenas. Let’s talk about how Gilbert went from 1st round to 2nd round. It wasn’t because of his talent because that man is a bad man, and I will get on any app and talk about how bad of a man he was. But Gilbert was an immature a****le. That’s just what he was. We’re all little d*ckheads, I get it. But what Gilbert did was a little bit more special.”
Arenas was selected with the 31st overall pick and the 1st pick of the second round in 2001. He would eventually become an All-Star, whereas Jefferson became a reliable scorer in the NBA. Arenas would retire without winning an NBA championship, and Jefferson would win an NBA championship in 2016 when he was part of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Arenas hasn’t responded to these comments, but he did comment on the post above with a few laughing emojis. That does suggest that he isn’t too bothered by what Jefferson had to say. RJ is one of the funniest players in the NBA and does have a reputation of joking a lot, so Gil could be taking his comments as a joke.
