For all intents and purposes, Richard Jefferson was due for a more lucrative payday than his college teammate Gilbert Arenas . After all, he was the 13th overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft and had proven himself as an effective scorer and transition target for elite court general Jason Kidd on the New Jersey Nets .
Arenas, on the other hand, was a 6'4″ combo guard whose draft stock plummeted for doing poorly in pre-draft workouts and interviews. As a result, he fell right into the lap of the Golden State Warriors , who selected him in the second round.
However, Arena's fall to the second round ultimately proved beneficial, as it meant his rookie contract lasted only two years, giving him the chance to sign a new contract in his third year. And not after he signed a lucrative five-year deal worth $51,216,000 with the Washington Wizards , he never failed to remind Jefferson and every first-round pick of his draft class about how much money he was making.
Jefferson was an integral part of the Nets team that made back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals. Even though he was only a rookie, he had the wherewithal just to play off Kidd and score easy buckets in transition. It was safe to say that Jefferson was doing a lot better than most of the players picked ahead of him.
"I'm in my third year, I'm averaging, like we went to the Finals twice, I'm averaging 18 a game, like, we win the division, I'm balling out, right?" Jefferson remembered .
But while Jefferson was enjoying a lot of team success, Arenas enjoyed plenty of individual success, winning the Most Improved Player award in his second year in the league after averaging 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. As he entered his third year as a restricted free agent, numerous teams lined up for his services.
In the end, the Warriors weren't able to match the Wizards' offer, and Agent Zero ended up becoming Washington's newest superstar.
In typical Arenas fashion, he saw the irony of the situation: Jefferson was undoubtedly playing well, averaging 18.5 points per game in his third season, yet he was only making $1,586,280 that year.
"I was a first-round pick. I'm in my third year, and Gilbert's like, 'Rich, how's it going over there? You playing well? What'd you make, 1.8? I'm making 11 million this year!' This is what he's saying to me during warmups," Jefferson revealed.
"'Richard, you're playing great. That $1.3 million is gonna be awesome. Yeah, I was in the second round, Rich. I'm making 11 million for the next six years. Wait, oh, you got another contract next year too,'" RJ continued. "To be in the middle of the game with all that. The whole first round, he murdered the whole first round."
It didn't make any sense at the time, but Arenas ended up cashing in a lot faster than any of the players in the entire first round – a weird quirk befitting of the man himself.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
