Gilbert Arenas On Life After NBA: 'It's No Different Than Somebody Who Has Been In Jail For 10-15 Years'

Gilbert Arenas reveals life post-retirement for NBA players might not be as good as you might think. On the latest episode of Gil's Arena, the 42-year-old described how players struggle once they walk away from the game.

"I mean (to) be honest it's difficult," Arenas said. "You've been pampered since you was skilled, right? AAU, college, high school, like you have been put on the pedestal. So, most of the time when motherf****** get to the NBA, they've never even done laundry before. When they got to college, somebody was doing their homework, somebody was doing their laundry."

Arenas says once the players get to the NBA, they're on their own for the first time and are trying to figure out how to be an adult with all the money in the world.

"When you're done, it's no different than somebody who has been in jail for 10-15 years or in the army," Arenas continued. "Most players didn't have Plan B's. We're Superman, right? So when we're done, one, we didn't know we were going to be done, so we sitting around trying to work out, and then it becomes a depression.

Arenas claims money ends up causing problems after a player retires.

"The money doesn't matter at that point because the only thing that money does is get us in trouble," Arenas stated. "So most guys' habits, those bad habits, drugs, and gambling, that happens usually when they're done because they're trying to fill the void of practice and games."

The three-time All-Star says the first year post-retirement is just fine, but when it settles in later that it is all over, that's when things go south.

"When reality kicks in that you ain't going back no more, now it's like, 'Alright, who are you?' I was a basketball motherf***** playing," Arenas stated. "Nah who are you? B**** I don't know, I've been a basketball player since I was 10... So 10 to 35, 20-something years of being a basketball player."

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