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Gilbert Arenas reveals he showered in full game gear at halftimes: "To get that sorry-ness off me"
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- Gilbert Arenas reveals he showered in full game gear at halftimes: "To get that sorry-ness off me"
Despite having access to state-of-the-art gear and amenities, as well as experienced trainers and medical staff, sometimes all it takes for an athlete to turn their game around is a simple ritual or superstition. For former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas , that ritual was as unconventional as any.
Known for his exuberance and impeccable scoring, Arenas was also a bit of an eccentric on and off the court. In a recent interview with Derrick White on the "White Noise" podcast, he revealed that his secret to turning around bad first-half performances was showering in the locker room while wearing his uniform.
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Get that stink off of him
Arenas, a 6'4" guard who played college basketball at Arizona, was one of the most unique personalities the NBA had ever seen. A second-round pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, largely because of former Boston Celtics coach Jim O'Brien's assessment of him being " immature " during his pre-draft workout with the team, Arenas went from zero to being the league's cult hero, in large part because of his odd antics.
One of those antics was his ritual of showering during halftime.
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"If I'm having a bad half, I'm going to take a shower to get that sorry-ness off me," he said . "Shoes and everything! Only thing I changed was the socks."
"So we're all out there, and you can see the moisture. It got to the point where they were like, 'Yo, can you at least change your shoes?' You got to remember — the shoes are soaked. So I can dry the bottom off," he continued. "I'm serious. Just to get it down. I had to get it off me, dog. Every possession, the ball boys are coming out sweeping the floor."
Arenas added that that wasn't the only thing he did back in the day that endangered those who played on the same floor as him. He also claims he put on too much baby powder in his tights, leaving a white trail on the court and causing players to slip and fall.
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"I remember I put too much baby powder on once, and it was leaking through my tights onto the floor," Arenas shared, laughing. "Everybody slipping and sliding because the baby powder was coming through my tights."
Related: Larry Bird named his favorite modern NBA superstar: "He goes all out all the time"
Ex-teammate attests to Arenas' ritual
Before anyone thinks this is just one of Arenas' tall tales, his former teammate Jason Richardson confirmed that he was indeed quite the character back in their Golden State Warriors .
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"The moment I knew he was crazy was, man, we playing the game, and it's our second year in the NBA. Gilbert has a terrible game. He's starting to play more, he's starting, when he becoming, you know, kind of 'Agent Zero.' He had a terrible game. And halftime happened. He just runs off the court, runs straight to the locker room," Richardson shared.
As the Warriors' coach at the time, Eric Musselman, began discussing second-half adjustments, they noticed their best player wasn't in the locker room.
"So everybody's like, 'Yo, where Gilbert at?' And all we hear is a shower running. And, then, like two minutes later, Gilbert comes out, full uniform. He got the uniform, socks, shoes on — drenching wet," Richardson continued.
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Michael Jordan famously wore North Carolina Tar Heels practice shorts under his Bulls uniform as a superstition. Arenas, however, took his own ritual to an entirely different level. But if it works, it works.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
