You’ve got to love Gilbert Arenas. Or hate him. Nonetheless, the NBA needs Gilbert Arenas.
Arenas, the Washington Wizards’ star, understands the arena in which he dwells. Though he’s playing in an image-conscious climate, despite being judged by media members and fans who subscribe to archaic ideologies, Arenas has managed to grasp the true sense of sports. And the NBA is the better for it.
“It’s entertainment,” Arenas said. “We’re entertainers.”
Compared with the muted millionaire athletes who dominate sports today, Arenas is refreshing. What other athlete is this good and this connected with fans?
He gives out his jersey after every game. He patiently signs autographs for crowds. For home games, he gives $100 per point he scores to selected D.C.-area schools (he’s up to $103,300 with seven games to go). He makes bets with fans and pays up. He has his own blog on NBA.com. He trash-talks publicly, mostly in jest, and willingly provides bulletin-board material for opposing teams and their fans.
Apparently, Arenas is on to something. Fans love him throughout the league, and he’s a cult figure in Washington. This season Arenas cracked the top 10 in jersey sales, according to the NBA, for the first time.
His growing popularity is not surprising, because fans love athletes who talk a good game and back it up. Fans love players who aren’t afraid to speak out, not afraid to share their feelings and can put on a good show.
“It’s like I’m an NBA rock star,” Arenas said.
“Your superstars, they’re just boring,” he later added. “They’re so afraid of saying something wrong. You see something in the paper, then you turn on ESPN and see if they’re going to say something about it. You can’t live like that. . . . Be yourself. You’ll see how much people will love you for it.”
Arenas certainly has the talent to entertain the crowds he draws. He has three game-winning shots this season, plus a game-winning free throw against the Warriors on March 4. His 31 games with 30 points or more are tops in the league (the Wizards have won 25 of those games).
Anyone who watched the Wizards’ Dec. 22 game at Phoenix, in which Arenas followed through on his prediction of scoring 50 against the Suns by putting up 54, certainly was entertained.
“That’s just Gilbert,” said Warriors guard Jason Richardson, a good friend and former teammate of Arenas. “He makes the game interesting. He’s almost like a–not quite yet–but like [a Muhammad] Ali type, where you can say something off the wall and then he goes out there and does it.”
Some fans were even entertained when he didn’t fulfill his prediction of scoring 50 against Portland on Feb. 11, when he finished with nine points.
“One guy screamed, `Arenas, you [stink]!”‘ Arenas said, recalling an interaction with a fan in Portland. “I said, `Yeah, but you came to see me score 50, because I know you didn’t come for the Blazers.’ He was like, `Yeah, you’re right.”‘
San Antonio forward Tim Duncan is a pleasure to watch because he’s so good, but you don’t talk about him at the water cooler. Phoenix point guard Steve Nash is an unbelievable player, but you aren’t waiting to hear what he has to say.
Fortunately, we have Arenas, someone not motivated by image or an outdated idea of professionalism and etiquette, but by fun and a desire to captivate fans.
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That’s why you’ve got to love Arenas. Or hate him. Either way, the NBA needs him.