Gilbert's Recent blog

FFz · Mar 23, 2007

Read it! It's hilarious and has a slice of life quality to it!

My Mission Statement
I was watching 1st and 10 yesterday and I heard Skip Bayless, the one who just kills athletes, I was listening to Skip Bayless.

I seen the headline, it was “Arenas something,” and I was like, “Oh, let me see what they’re going to kill me about today.” It was about the 19 points, which I figured, “Man, OK, I’ll get killed for that one.”

But it was something he said that kind of like made me think, “Hey, OK, hold on.” He was like, “I think he should just shut his trap and just play basketball.”

So I sat down and had to blog about this. I guess they don’t understand me and I think that’s the big problem. So this is about me overall.

So this will be a little different, blog readers.

I’ll start off by saying … well, everybody wants to know about the 50-point game. You know, I didn’t get the 50 I promised myself and my lovely fans.

So, I’m 1-for-2. I’m 1-for-2 on my predictions. I can actually live with that.

1-for-2 this season when you say you’re going to score 50 on somebody. One team you got it against, the other team, well they watched that other team get 50 so they’re not going to have that.

They played a great game. They played me tough. They was into it. It was actually playoff basketball for the most part. The fans were into it. They were into more than both teams I think. That energy from when I touched the ball to when they called my name, you know, “Boooooooo!”

That was the loudest arena that I’ve been to all season, and it’s not even the playoffs. That was the loudest arena in probably a decade for a regular season game.

Before that day I made that prediction, I don’t think anybody knew who I was in Portland. So by me saying I was going to score 50, about 14,000 people showed up on a Tuesday night.

The same thing happened in Washington. The game wasn’t even televised, but everybody in Washington showed up for the game. Because I said I was going to score 50, that many people showed up to boo and to witness.

It was funny, I was sitting on the bench and a fan said, “Arenas, you suck!” and I started laughing. I was like, “Man, but you came here to see me score 50, because I know you aren’t here for the Blazers!” And he started laughing too and was like, “Well maybe you’re right.”

It’s kind of funny people are there to see you score 50, and the other people claim they don’t want you to get it, but at the end of the day they all want to see you score 50. They’re just there to enjoy the game. It was a hype game and they wanted to be there.

You know, I’ve been making predictions for myself since I can remember.

The first public prediction was me starting by midseason of my freshman year at Arizona.

I worked so hard I ended up starting the first game.

Second, the day I got drafted they said, “Gilbert Arenas, you’re No. 31.” And I got in an interview with those people in Oakland and I said I’m gonna be starting by the middle of the season.

They all laughed.

Game 41 comes up, I’m on IR, they’re laughing. They write an article, “Big-mouthed kid…big-mouthed rookie…” this and that, you know, they’re just killing me.

Game 42, the very next day, I’m starting. One day off. I was one day off my prediction.

My next prediction, sophomore year, I said I was going to win the Rookie-Sophomore Game MVP.

They was like, “How are you going to win it?”

And I was like, “How much am I averaging?”

They was like, “16, seven and seven.”

I was like, “Well, that’s what I’m going to do at the All-Star Game.”

They was like, “You sure?!”

“Yeah, that’s all it’s going to take. 16, seven and seven.”

I knew 16, seven and seven wasn’t going to get me the trophy, but you know, it was the point of saying that I was going to win it.

I came home with that trophy.

So I leave Golden State that same year and I go to D.C. and I set up at that podium and I say that we’re going to be a playoff team.

Everyone laughed. Haha. Whatever.

“That’s what Michael Jordan said … that’s what every player said before him…”

Everyone laughed, which they should’ve, because we were hit with the injury bug that year. The starting five only played 5-to-10 games together that whole year. So I stayed in the arena that whole summer.

Working out.

Playing hard.

Working on my body.

You know, because I told myself, “We’re going to make the playoffs this year, and I’m going to be an All-Star for the first time this year.”

Both of them came through.

That was the same year where I considered myself reborn. It was playoff time, five seconds left, I hit the game-winner.

Fifteen seconds before that game-winner, I’m sitting on the bench and Coach is drawing up a play for Larry Hughes. When we come out, I told Anthony Peeler, “Just give me the ball. Because this game is over.”

Everybody knows what happened after that. Game over.

You know, I look at it like this. Everyone in the world has predictions, everyone. Coaches to referees to media to the average Joe working on the street. They have a prediction that they’re going to be better, or bigger, or get that raise at this date, they’re going to do whatever it takes … so everybody has predictions.

Referees have predictions too. When I was talking to a referee at halftime about a call, he was like, “Man, I’m mad.”

I was like, “What are you mad about?”

“I missed four plays that period.”

I was like, “Huh?”

“I missed four plays. I usually want to miss four plays for the game and I missed four that period.”

Now, that’s a prediction, right? He predicts his outcome. That’s when I realized that everyone has predictions, I just tell you mine.

I don’t have a problem saying, “Here comes the big 50, the big one.”

I said I was going to score 50 against Phoenix and Portland.

I scored 54 against Phoenix.

That wasn’t a big deal, right? A few people knew about it … nothing to be proud about. It wasn’t like the Suns were on a 15-game winning streak or anything.

Then here comes Portland. Need that 50 against Portland.

I score nine the first game. Big ol’ hoopla about it, “Oh he only scored nine…” this and this…

Then Tuesday, 19. You know, I didn’t come through like I said on that one.

Then I turn on the TV and it’s like, “He should shut his big mouth, and just play basketball…he needs to focus.”

“He’s quirky, he’s crazy.”

Man, calling someone “quirky” or “crazy” is dismissive.

“Because I don’t understand him, he’s ‘crazy.’”

Now that’s crazy.

Since we’re talking about numbers, 95 percent of the things I said I was going to do, I did. The other five percent I get ripped for.

I get killed.

I guess they just don’t understand me.

To understand me is to understand a fan.

To understand a fan is to love the sport you’re watching.

I love the game of basketball.

I am a fan of the game of basketball, and that’s why I enjoy it.

Growing up, it wasn’t about the money. It wasn’t about the cars. It wasn’t about the bling-blau that it is today.

It was simple.

It was, “How did MJ feel? How did he feel right at this moment after he hit that game-winner?”

That’s what I wanted to know. Like, “What’s going though his mind?” Like, “How does he feel crying, kissing that trophy, with the champagne on his head?”

That’s what I wanted to know about.

That’s what they were showing us. Game-winners, Shaq in a big ol’ couch that made him look like a midget, those are the things I fell in love with.

You know, Penny Hardaway with the Lil’ Penny. That’s what I fell in love with.

We didn’t hear about the drug addictions and contracts and who has the best car…

Growing up, I didn’t see none of that.

I seen Allen Iverson’s new shoe was coming out, I better hurry up and get to the store. That’s what I seen. That’s what I fell in love with.

Like at the All-Star Game it looked like they were enjoying themselves and I was like, “Man, I wish I could be there one day.”

You know, you go to the game this year and you see the fourth quarter. Fourth-quarter, first timeout: Here comes the trampoline!

And it’s like, “Man, how does he feel?”

“Does he practice that?”

“Is it too high?”

“Do you think he’s going to make it?”

“Does he think he’s going to make it?”

That’s what fans feel. That’s what they want to know. That’s who I am. I’m a fan.

I feel those things. I play, like when I jumped off the trampoline, not because Shaq said he’s going to give me money, because I always dreamed about doing that.

That’s what it is. That’s who I am.

I’m a fan. I enjoy the game.

So if that’s “crazy” or “quirky,” just give me season tickets to any arena and let me sit there with 20,000 other “crazy” and “quirky” people.

So when I hear critics say, “Just play basketball,” I say, from the age of 14, that’s all I’ve been doing – playing basketball.

I’ve been playing from a fan’s view.

There’s hundreds of NBA players, but there’s a few basketball-playing fans.

What I mean is that there’s a few NBA players that’s actually a fan of the game of basketball. There’s a few players, if you take the money away, they will still play it as hard as they do.

Only a few.

“Gilbertology” and “Gilbert being Gilbert” means Gilbert enjoying his time in the NBA. From predictions that I say I’m going to do, to pranks, that I have fun doing with my teammates.

I’m going to enjoy it because you never know when it’s going to end.

From a season-ending injury, to a career-ending injury, you never know how long it’s going to be.

You never know how long you’re going to be in this game.

And I realized that the day I was sitting on that bench after I got drafted for the first 40 games. And at one moment my life changed, to enjoying it, to being a fan.

In front of 14,000 people and we were losing to the Timberwolves. No energy out there. 14,000 people started screaming my name.

That was my draft day. That was the day I got drafted.

That was the best feeling I felt my rookie season.

That was the day I started playing for the fans.

So when I hear critics say I’m “quirky” and “crazy,” I might be. Because only “quirky” and “crazy” people would sleep in the gym instead of sleeping at their house because they want to be the best basketball player they can be.

This has been a three-week long inner argument I’ve been doing in my head. It started when DeShawn told me, you know he throws his little hand over his face, you know the “I can’t feel my face.”

So when he scored a tough basket, normally we’d give him the “I can’t feel my face.” So you got your fingers doing it, and you look over and he doesn’t do it.

So I’m like, “What the … What’s wrong with him?”

We come back down on offense, alright, pass it to the corner and he shoots a three – no more hand in the face.

So I go up to him at halftime and I’m like, “What’s up? You don’t do the hand in the face no more?”

And he sat there with a straight face and told me, “I can’t do it anymore.”

I said, “What do you mean you can’t do it anymore?”

“Uh, my agent said teams are asking what is the hand in the face and are wondering if I’m throwing up gang signs. So he told me to stop doing it.”

And that kind of offended me.

It offended me one, because the day before that my dad called me and said, “I’ve been reading on Real GM that people are asking, ‘Why do the Wizards have so many antics?’ What is with the hand shaking, the hands in the face, the hibachi, the nicknames? Why don’t they just play basketball?’”

I almost got mad at my dad, even though he’s not the one that wrote it. What do you mean, “just play basketball?”

The reason people watch us is because it looks like we enjoy what we’re doing. If you look at any team out there that has 12 guys, 15 guys enjoying what they’re doing, it makes you want to go see them.

If we’re celebrating after every basket, it’s because it means that much to us.

So when DeShawn told me he couldn’t do the hand in the face anymore, I got offended. I didn’t even want to talk to him the rest of the day. How is your agent going to tell you that you cannot celebrate by putting your hand in your face?

I said, “Nobody told Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson to stop tapping their head.” You know why? Because every little kid was doing it.

And I said, “You know what I want you to do? When we go out there at halftime,” I said, “Put your hand in your face and shake it.”

He did it and 14 people in the front row started doing the same thing.

I said, “But your agent said you can’t do it because it’s gang related. Then all them business men in the front row must be part of your gang.”

He started laughing. You know, that’s what’s wrong with sports now. Image. Can’t have fun anymore. It’s about image.

What’s going on with sports?

When I was little, this wasn’t what it was about. Certain players did certain things and you knew that. You knew when MJ would hit a shot he’d put that right arm out with a fist and tap the floor.

Who does that now? Kobe Bryant. He hits the shot, and there you go. There’s the fist. That’s that class. The Jordan class. He gives you the fist.

LeBron, what does he give you? Same thing with KG. The dust. They give you the dust. That’s part of the antics.

Believe it or not people, those are antics.

From the dust coming up, to the fist of hitting a big shot, those are all antics.

From me doing the hibachi grill, to Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson doing the head pumping … I mean, I used to do that too! I’d hit a three and I’m bopping my head. Darius Miles came in the year before me, so I did that.

I mean, that’s fun. People want fun. Little kids want fun. It’s like we’re taking fun out of basketball.

If a little kid turned on the TV and they heard a critic say, “We don’t like when they do this to their head or do that with their fist or do the hibachi hand…” That would hurt a kid’s heart, because when they go on the playground, they imitate that.

The antics are changing, but they’re still antics.

From Dennis Rodman diving on the floor to slapping Karl Malone on the butt to piss him off, those are antics.

People imitate that to this day.

I used to love when the Bulls played the Jazz and Karl Malone tried to post up Dennis Rodman. One, Dennis Rodman was going to fondle him before actually playing real defense. I realized this at that age. I studied it. It was like, “Oh man, Karl Malone has his hands full tonight.”

Because I knew what Rodman was going to do to him, and that’s what I wanted to see.

It’s just funny how you have these so-called experts and critics and they just nit-pick at the game of any sport. They just nit-pick at it, and nit-pick at it, and nit-pick at it.

The reason everybody loves T.O. is the same reason everybody hates T.O. It’s the celebration, having fun, pulls out the pen and signing autographs. They love it, and then they hate it, for the same reason.

I love T.O. for that. For having fun. For enjoying football. Same thing with Chad Johnson. That’s where I got the idea of putting “Agent” on my All-Star jersey and try to play in the game with it, because he put “Ocho Cinco” on his jersey.

You know, that’s funny! That’s hilarious to me. It’s all entertainment.

When we step inside that court and people come into those arenas and sit down, it’s not about what they did that day, it’s not about their rent, their jobs, how bad their day is going. It’s about, “I’m going to forget about it for two hours.”

Two hours while this basketball game is going on.

Same thing with a player, no matter what’s going on outside of the arena, when you get in there it’s my job to entertain for two hours.

The antics aren’t taking away from my level of concentration. I’m sleeping in the gym. I’m working out three times a day. I spent my whole summer to get back at two so-called teams.

So I think I have the right to put baby powder on somebody from my team’s donuts for five minutes. All powder takes is five minutes. I think a good prank takes 15 good minutes.

It’s a job. Like when you’re done with your job, what do most people do? Go get a glass of wine, relax themselves … because they work, that’s what they do.

How come we can’t do the same thing?

It’s funny how we’re not human anymore. It’s like once we sign that big deal we’re not human anymore.

When I finish working out, I want to go home and relax. Relaxing for me is going home and playing video games, watching a funny movie, writing a funny commercial to myself. That’s me enjoying myself.

Some people it’s going and getting a glass of wine. Some people it’s going to a club.

Why because a player gets in trouble at a club that you ban everybody from the club? I don’t see somebody who works on Wall Street go to a bar and there’s a bar fight and then you say, “You know everybody on Wall Street, no more bars. You can’t go to the bars anymore.”

It’s hard because there are players that are going to mess up all the time, but don’t put us all in the same box.

We need to go back to the love.

I love the game so much that I will sit there and read the rule book. I will sit there and learn every referee’s name.

Because as a player, and you’re in the heat of that moment which we all get, and you go up to that ref and you want to cuss him out and you say, “Hey No. 42!” Or, “Hey referee, that was a bad call,” then you’re getting a tech.

But if you say, “Hey Eric … Hey David, I think that was a bad call.”

“Come on, just play Gilbert…”

That’s it.

No technical.

Why? Because you took the time to learn their name.

That’s the same thing with reporters. Take the time to learn the players, the NBA and what’s going on around us instead of just doing this cliché of writing.

If one person writes something bad like, “Oh you know, LeBron James doesn’t look like he’s playing hard…”

All of the sudden 400 other people want to write the same thing. Why don’t you just go ask him?

“LeBron, it looks like you’re not playing hard…”

He’s going to say, “You know, both my ankles are sprained, my lower back is pulled, I can’t run as hard as I did two days ago, but I’m still playing on my injury.”

Booyah, all that’s solved. By asking one question.

But I guess that’s the way it is.

This is what I do. I sit and think about this stuff. I’m not some dumb athlete that just goes and plays basketball.

That’s the perception of sports players.

It’s kind of funny, even if a basketball player tries to rap, it’s hilarious how much everybody responds to it, “Ohhh mannnn! Why don’t you guys just stick to what you do!”

One guy does it and it’s terrible and automatically anyone else who tries it, it’s going to be terrible.

Next week we’ll be back to our regular-scheduled program of fun and antics because I have my 10 best pranks of all time to reveal to you all.
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http://www.nba.com/blog/gilbert_arenas#070322_01

kaleidosky · Mar 23, 2007

I'm generally not a fan of Gil and his cocky BS..

but that's a hell of a read, and I can't dislike him at the moment at least..

Tigerknee · Mar 23, 2007

Great read. 0 seems like a great guy.

Pest_Ctrl · Mar 23, 2007

I was about to start a thread on the same thing. This guy's writing skill is really amazing. Right now he is probably the most entertaining and thoughtful writer on NBA.com. He expresses his thought crystal clear while having a special sense of humor. How many athletes can do that? Probably none, maybe except the one that just come out of the closet.

rednene · Mar 23, 2007

I can't believe I read through the entire piece! I usually skim through most of the long-winded ESPN stories that try to hard to be funny, sarcastic or ‘risky.’ Zero had me laughing, smiling and most importantly, thinking about the non-statistics part of the game. Zero's reminding us to have fun, to be creative, eclectic, both on and off the court, during and after our 9-5 routine. I wonder what books he's been reading lately? His piece seems to echo Salinger, Sartre and Lefebvre…

If he ever wrote a book, I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually became a best seller (at least in the sports world).

nice piece Agent 0!

davidwu · Mar 23, 2007

Exactly my thoughts. Simply looking at those short sentences/paragraphs, I would assume as somewhat clueless ranting. But after reading it, wow, such a smooth writer. He has got talent.

Pest_Ctrl said:

I was about to start a thread on the same thing. This guy's writing skill is really amazing. Right now he is probably the most entertaining and thoughtful writer on NBA.com. He expresses his thought crystal clear while having a special sense of humor. How many athletes can do that? Probably none, maybe except the one that just come out of the closet.
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huypham · Mar 23, 2007

it's pretty unorganized but i like it because it's raw. straight up emotion, no editing.

great stuff.

WhoMikeJames · Mar 23, 2007

They need one blog for 1 superstar on every team. Ours should be Vspan.

Axle_Shot · Mar 23, 2007

HIBACHI!

Awesome article by Gil. He's one of my FAVORITE players in the league/

jakedasnake · Mar 23, 2007

kaleidosky said:

I'm generally not a fan of Gil and his cocky BS..

but that's a hell of a read, and I can't dislike him at the moment at least..
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How can you not like him(not really I respect your opinion)? He's the man though. I just like how he seems so real. As long as he continues to think of himself as an underdog, his career will improve every year. I think he will always remember being drafted #31 and being left off of the US squad will keep him hungry forever.

kaleidosky · Mar 23, 2007

jakedasnake said:

How can you not like him(not really I respect your opinion)? He's the man though. I just like how he seems so real. As long as he continues to think of himself as an underdog, his career will improve every year. I think he will always remember being drafted #31 and being left off of the US squad will keep him hungry forever.
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I've made my opinion known here in multiple threads--esp. the last time his blog was posted. I think he's an attention-w****, a distraction for his time, super-cocky, and I think he thinks he's better than he is.

He's not on the level of the superstars because he doesn't make his teammates better... and unlike them, he's a PG!! The guy is a scorer. Which is great.. but when you watch him play, he's rarely in the mode where he can either score or look for his teammates. He'll make the highlight pass...but doesn't really run an offense.

edit: but again, from my first post, this is a hell of a read and makes me not dislike him for the moment at least

TECH · Mar 23, 2007

The first half was horrible, but the last had some funny moments.

He comes across like a blond bimbo, text messaging her other blond bimbo, while driving.....and putting on makeup in the rearview mirror....

DaDakota · Mar 23, 2007

one of my favorite players, and I wish he were a Rocket.

DD

Mr. Clutch · Mar 23, 2007

He really likes talking about himself, doesn't he.

Angioplasty · Mar 23, 2007

DaDakota said:

one of my favorite players, and I wish he were a Rocket.

DD
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Of course. He's the only person alive who's a bigger attention w**** than you.

London'sBurning · Mar 23, 2007

Mr. Clutch said:

He really likes talking about himself, doesn't he.
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Most people do.

Mr. Clutch · Mar 23, 2007

London'sBurning said:

Most people do.
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I don't know about that.

BrieflySpeaking · Mar 23, 2007

good read, i still dont agree with predicting stuff, i'd rather just go out and play, but overrall hes entertaining.

zerhoe · Mar 23, 2007

i used to be a fan of his, even with all the antics - that was part of the fun - but when i started reading his blogs (and i've read pretty much all of them), i got the feeling he's just way too arrogant and a d******d, not with just the predictions he makes but with other things he would mention in his blog...like ordering rookies to get his towels and things like that (maybe there's a locker room code to slave the rookies and be a dick?), hard to think of exact stuff now and i can't be bothered slathering through his blogs to point them out - but yeh - after this lastest post, my respect for him has gone back up a notch, to where i think 'yeh this guys a cocky b*stard and dick half the time, but a likeable dick nonetheless, one with some great passion and respect!

a well written piece worthy of a good read...check it out

A_3PO · Mar 23, 2007

He's been one of my favorite players since he joined the Wizards. Interesting read. Gilbert is one of those guys I want to win a title very badly. Even when he plays the Rockets, I root for him to put on show and for the Wizards to lose.

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