Former three-time NBA All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas is not exactly the most humble individual you would have met during his playing days. Now seven years removed from a colorful career in the league, the 37-year-old is now able to speak freely about his rather lavish lifestyle during his youth.
As a matter of fact, Arenas was already living the life of a superstar even before he got drafted — something that he would live to regret as soon as he entered the NBA. Speaking to Leo Sepkowitz of The Athletic, Arenas shared a story of how he had already spent his first paycheck even before he got drafted.
“What had happened was,” he begins. “I bought my chain, bought my Escalade with the five TVs and the stereo system.”
According to the article, Arenas had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars even before playing a single minute in the NBA, under his assumption that he was going to get selected first overall, and would be in line for a huge payday.
Unfortunately for the former Arizona standout, he would end up being selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 31st overall pick, where he was looking at an annual salary of around $330,000. This was a huge reality check for Arenas, who would end up living on a $400 monthly budget during his first two years in the league.
“Imagine trying to be an NBA player for $400 per month,” he says. He rented a small house and took as much food as possible from the team plane. “Try going on a date in the middle of the month with $100 left. I got gas, I had two dogs and a girlfriend at the time. There was no date night! It was horrible.”
This is indeed a pretty amusing in hindsight, but surely, it would have been extremely tough, especially for a guy like Arenas. Thankfully for him, he would go on to prove his worth in the league, and would end up raking in the millions as his career went on.
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