Gilbert Arenas is taking aim this week at Hakeem Olajuwon.
In an episode this week of his show “Gil’s Arena,” the retired former All-Star guard Arenas went on a profane rant against the center legend Olajuwon. Arenas apparently had an issue with Olajuwon reportedly charging NBA stars $50,000 for private workout sessions.
“Nobody wants the Hakeem Olajuwon sky-hook,” said Arenas. “Nobody wants none of that s–t … You should be ashamed of yourself, charging these young whippersnappers $50,000. When you came in the league 1984, you wasn’t even making $50,000 a game. You’re trying to make your money back through the youth!
“Do not charge these boys 50-f–king-grand for that bulls–t!” Arenas added of Olajuwon. “He ain’t been good since the ’90s. That means all the moves from the 2000s, he don’t know. 2010s, he don’t know. 2020s, he don’t know … Who the f–k you gonna do the moves on? [Victor] Wembanyama?”
You can watch Arenas’ full rant here (but watch out for the bad language).
Of course, Arenas’ show is humorous and irreverent at its core, and he often seems to be playing an exaggerated version of himself on there. But he may have still gotten a little bit out of pocket with these comments.
Olajuwon, who is under no obligation to do so, has been training the NBA’s best of the best in the art of the post game for years. He wouldn’t have had clients like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and others if he did not have something incredibly valuable to give. Good fundamental footwork will never go out of style in the basketball, no matter how much the sport evolves. Plus, Olajuwon isn’t charging $50,000 to John Q. Driveway but rather to multi-millionaire NBA stars who make eight figures a year.
Now 60 years old, Olajuwon was back in the news earlier this month because a younger NBA star revealed that he plans to work with Olajuwon. But Arenas, for whatever reason, seems to think that working with Olajuwon would only be a waste of time and money.
