Gilbert Arenas is a 3-time NBA All-Star, a player who at his peak, averaged 29.3 points per game with the Washington Wizards. No Chill Gil, as he was called, has always had all the swagger of a basketball great without the winning record. This doesn’t stop him from entertaining NBA fans though, with Arenas quick to share stories from his career, the sort of stuff a lot of athletes don’t talk about.
Arenas wasn’t a part of too many winning teams in his career but his prowess meant he got to be a part of a fair few blowouts in his time. Now usually, when the starters get benched because the team has an insurmountable lead, they chill and play around on the bench while encouraging the end-of-bench players that are getting minutes.
Gilbert though, had his routine for when he managed to get benched because his team was winning. He spoke about it on the ‘No Chill with Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, addressing a question about the supposed unwritten rules for etiquette during a blowout.
“If I wanna eat a hot dog, I’m gonna eat a hot dog… If I see a girl walking in the arena, I’m gonna try to get that number”
Gilbert Arenas on the Unwritten Rules of bench etiquette during a blowout 😂 (@fuboSports) pic.twitter.com/ydNpxafiDa
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) January 18, 2022
“Listen, we both prepared for this game. I beat your a** so bad I get to sit on the bench. If I wanna eat a hot dog, I’m gonna eat a f**kin hot dog. If I see a bad girl walking in the arena, I’m gonna try and get that number. You can’t tell me what to do because I put in the work!”
Arenas played the best part of his career with the Washington Wizards, appearing for the franchise from 2003 to 2010. He had several controversies off the court which culminated with him admitting to storing firearms in his locker at the arena. Arenas was suspended from the NBA, convicted for carrying an unlicensed firearm, and never quite managed to make it back to the league at the highest level.
