“Cheated” in NBA Draft, Gilbert Arenas Claims Zero Regrets Over Career-Altering Mistake

Call it a lesson, an unfair treatment, or even a joke, but Gilbert Arenas’ NBA draft pick remains one of the most shocking moments in basketball memory. The former Arizona Wildcats standout may not have been hailed as a generational college talent, but with a scoring average close to 16 points per game, he certainly earned the right to be picked higher in the 2001 NBA draft. Now, years later, Arenas has reflected on the entire experience in Netflix’s newly released documentary, Untold: Shooting Guards. At one point in the film, viewers are taken straight into the tense and uncertain atmosphere of the 2001 draft. And then comes the jaw-dropper: “The Houston Rockets select Richard Jefferson from the University of Arizona.”

Now, Jefferson was a solid player—no shade there. He averaged about 11 points per game over three years with Arizona. But Arenas, putting up better numbers from the same program, had many believing he’d go first. And when he didn’t? The sting never left. Reason? It was his unapologetically goofy nature that cost him dearly. While his game spoke volumes, it was his off-court behavior that likely knocked him down the pecking order. The 3x All-Star would later be drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 31st overall pick.

“I’m feeling cheated. It seemed like I was getting a penalty for my behavior. A few things was going against me… I was immature. I bumped heads with the conventional NBA when I said the pimp phrase,” Arenas confessed in the documentary. And if you’re wondering what exactly that infamous “pimp phrase” was all about, Richard Jefferson had already spelled it out in an old interview with Basketball Network.

“During the rookie transition, all of the rookies and NBA people are going around passing the mic to players to talk about themselves, and Gilbert said ‘I wanna be a pimp.’ They give him a second chance to correct himself, and while everyone was laughing, he said ‘I wanna be an international pimp.’ The guy was frustrated and told Arenas if he will be a misogynist who objectifies women, there will be no place for him in the league. He went after Gil and actually thought it will have some sort of impact,” Jefferson said.

Clearly, the goal was humor. Gil was just trying to stand out, though in hindsight, it may not have been the best time to crack jokes. Still, he’s never backed down from owning it. In fact, upon self-evaluation of whether he’d do it all again, he didn’t flinch. “If I had to do it over again, would I? Yeah.”

But the pimp comment wasn’t the only eyebrow-raising moment that draft season. As highlighted in the same Basketball Network piece, Arenas’ eccentricity didn’t stop there. During a scheduled 20-minute treadmill test, he arrived in Chuck Taylors. He barely ran for a minute before stepping off and casually announcing the shoes weren’t made for that. Definitely not the impression scouts were hoping for. Despite this, he has, on previous occasions, raised his objections to Jefferson getting drafted before him. RJ’s response? One that was straightforward and spot on.

The time when Richard Jefferson shot back at Gilbert Arenas with “immature…” remarks

Sometimes, old college memories don’t fade—they fester. And for Gilbert Arenas, the 2001 NBA Draft left a lasting mark. As mentioned earlier, even time failed to heal the sting of being picked 31st. No wonder Gil still had some fire left when he lit into Richard Jefferson on a podcast episode in 2022.

“You know they picked Richard Jefferson, right? How did they pick Richard Jefferson (ahead of me) when I was the number one scorer in the University of Arizona? I was the best player on our team. He was option three, four even,” Arenas said. Shots fired—and Jefferson didn’t just let them slide. Instead of clapping back on a podcast or Twitter, RJ chose TikTok to deliver his response. And let’s just say, he didn’t hold back either.

“Let’s talk about why Gilbert went from the first round to the second round. It wasn’t because of his talent, because that man was a bad man… but Gilbert was an immature a*****e. That’s just who he was. We are all little d*******s, I get it. But what Gilbert did was a little more special,” Jefferson said, referring to the “pimp” comments that had haunted Gil’s draft reputation.

And just when you thought he might stop there, RJ doubled down. “Sorry, ladies… So, that happened. So, all of these things are the reason why Gilbert just kept dropping, because he’s an i****. The fact that his brain still doesn’t process why he dropped down — just to let you know who Gilbert is, and I love my guy, but he’s a little special.” The draft drama might be decades old, but for these two, it’s still very much personal. Now, it’s to be seen if Jeff comes up with a reaction to Gilbert Arenas’ comments on the Netflix Documentary.

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