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Gilbert Arenas Had To Sleep At Oracle Arena After Spending Entire Rookie Salary Before The Start Of The Season
When you hear the name ‘Gilbert Arenas’ most of you probably think of the gun inciedent, but Gilbert Arenas was much more than that.
He was an elite NBA player, one of the best and most talented guards of our time. He was a three time All-Star and member of three All NBA Teams. In his second year in the league, Agent 0 won the MIP Award. In his prime years from 2003-2007, he was a matchup nightmare.
During his active playing career, Arenas made an estimated $163.4 million in salary. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to budget when he was a rookie. Gil told VLAD TV that he spent his entire $845,000 rookie salary before the draft, leaving him with a $500 weekly budget for the entire 2001-02 season. This even led to Arenas sleeping at the Warriors’ arena because he couldn’t afford the gas to drive back-and-forth.
“You’ve been playing and training your whole life to be here, and when you get here it’s a rude awakening. You’re not even close to what is expected. You’re not good enough. You’re on a two-year deal, I have no money. It wasn’t fun. I even said then, ‘I wish I could come back to college. I took a pay cut coming here’…
The beginning of the season, I wasn’t good enough to be put on that floor. So, that anger and drive and just sitting in the gym for hours and hours and watching film is what got me going.”
