NBA players are among the most famous athletes in the world. They are also among the highest-paid sports athletes, with clout in industries such as entertainment and entrepreneurship.
As a result, people perceive them to be living ideal lifestyles, although things aren’t always so simple. Gilbert Arenas is an example of how money cannot buy happiness. Despite departing from the NBA with over $100 million in his bank account, he said he was frequently unhappy.
“Miserable,” he answered when he was asked about his post-retirement life. “Yeah, because, like any athlete, from ages 6, 7 years old, all we knew was one thing. Hoop. Hoop, school. (In) summer, hoop, play, hoop, hoop, hoop.”
He began playing basketball at the age of 10 and continued until the age of 32, according to him. He noted that basketball had dominated his life, which he described as “very regimented.”
“Wake up, ball, sleep, wake up, ball. That was it. NBA players, that’s the weird thing about them,” he said, according to Fadeaway World. “They wanna work during the summer, and when the NBA season starts, they want to party more because they get to go to every city.”
According to him, the scenario should have been reversed, with players focusing during the season and partying during the summer.
“A week goes by, you know, the summer goes by… I can smell when the season is starting. That September smell is coming. So my body naturally gets into ‘get ready for the season mode. Well, unfortunately, there’s no f**king season. But for the last f**king years, my body has been programmed.
“5:30 Am wake up, boom train. Lunch, train. So now, training camp starts… And now there’s no season and you’re sitting there like, what the f**k do I do with this time? I woke up at 5:30 Am. So what I did when I first retired, I had to figure out how to be busy between 9 Am and 12 Pm… What do we know? We haven’t had a regular life.”
Despite his dissatisfaction, Arenas stated he found a way to keep himself busy in retirement. The former NBA All-Star is now a media personality that conducts various shows and operates a podcast.
