"No one saw me touch a gun" - Gilbert Arenas denied Caron Butler's version of his infamous gun incident

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"No one saw me touch a gun" - Gilbert Arenas denied Caron Butler's version of his infamous gun incident

John Jefferson Tan · Basketball Network

Wed, November 4, 2026 at 8:24 PM UTC ·

6 min read

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The Washington Wizards ' locker room gun controversy involving Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton in 2009 resurfaced in October 2015 after Caron Butler released his memoir, "Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA."

In it, Butler gave a detailed retelling of the confrontation between his former teammates.

While Butler's story painted a very vivid picture of what went down that day, Arenas publicly challenged his recollection of the events.

Similar incident, different memories

The NBA's investigation concluded that Arenas and Crittenton had brought firearms into the Wizards locker room after their heated argument that began on the team's flight back from Phoenix. Then league Commissioner David Stern later said the two displayed the weapons as their disagreement escalated.

Those were the facts. What remained inaccurate was how everything unfolded.

Butler wrote that Arenas and Crittenton kept going at each other even after team president Ernie Grunfeld told him in a "pleading manner" to step in and stop them. According to Caron, it went on until they got on an airport shuttle.

"Everyone could hear Gilbert and Javaris going at it as we rode along. 'I'll see your (expletive) at practice and you know what I do,'" Gilbert said. "'What the (expletive) you mean, you know what I do?'" replied Javaris. "'I play with guns.' 'Well I play with guns, too,'" Butler said.

However, per Chris Lingebach of CBS Washington, Arenas' rebuttal stated a different version.

"So when the plane lands, (Crittenton) walks back talking tough, saying, 'If we were in the streets, I'll pop you in your knees.' I said, '(Shoot), I'll give you the guns to do it on Monday.' It was Saturday," Gil said in his response. "We had Sunday off."

More inconsistencies

Butler also recalled walking into the locker room and seeing Arenas standing near two lockers with four guns allegedly on display. Crittenton, meanwhile, was standing near his own locker with his back turned to Arenas.

"Gilbert was standing in front of his two locker stalls, the ones previously used by Michael Jordan, with four guns on display. Javaris was standing in front of his own stall, his back to Gilbert."

"'Hey, MFer, come pick one,'" Gilbert told Javaris while pointing to the weapons. "'I'm going to shoot your (expletive) with one of these.' 'Oh no, you don't need to shoot me with one of those,'" said Javaris, turning around slowly like a gunslinger in the Old West, Butler claimed.

"'I've got one right here.' He pulled out his own gun, already loaded, cocked it, and pointed it at Gilbert."

Arenas also rejected that description.

According to "Agent Zero," he never picked up a gun or threatened to shoot Crittenton. He insisted that he showed up early that day, put four unloaded guns and left a note.

Gil's statement seemed contrary to Butler's more cinematic version. He argued that no one else was in the room at the time, so he questioned how anyone could recount the scene in such vivid detail or claim to know exactly what happened.

"I get to the gym at 8 a.m. I put my four empty guns on his chair and a note that said, 'Pick one,'" Arenas claimed. "No one saw me touch a gun or saw me put them there. When Crittenton came in, I was in the training room. Crittenton, DeShawn Stevenson, Andray Blatche and Dominic McGuire were the only ones in the locker room when I walked in."

One gun was loaded

The Washington Post, reporting on Arenas' response at the time, noted that the two accounts differed over who placed the guns where and exactly how Crittenton came to produce his weapon.

Arenas was certain in his version that the guns were unloaded and intended to call Crittenton's bluff. However, there was one uncomfortable truth neither version could change or erase.

Guns had entered an NBA locker room and one of them was loaded.

Things took another turn before the Wizards faced the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 5, 2010. Arenas seemed to treat the controversy like a joke. He was seen playfully flashing his fingers as if they were guns while standing with several of his teammates.

For Arenas, it was funny, but the NBA wasn't joking.

At that point, the NBA decided the situation had gone too far to be left solely to the police and the Wizards organization.

The irreversible consequences

A day later, Stern suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay as the league launched its own investigation. The commish said Gil's actions left him convinced that the All-Star guard was not "currently fit to take the court in an NBA game."

Three weeks later, the punishment became official.

The NBA handed both Arenas and Crittenton suspensions effective through the rest of the 2009-10 season. Stern also made it clear that there was no room for firearms in an NBA locker room or workplace.

Moreover, the fallout hit Arenas hard financially too. He forfeited roughly $9.9 million from his $16.2 million salary for the season and later faced criminal charges after admitting that he had possessed an unlicensed gun.

Gil was sentenced later that season to two years of probation and time in a halfway house. As part of the punishment, "Agent Zero" also had to complete 400 hours of community service and donate $5,000 to a fund supporting victims of crime.

Arenas' career never quite recovered its previous trajectory.

Crittenton faced a tougher consequence. Once his suspension was over, he made an attempt to get his career back on track with Charlotte. That comeback did not last long, though, as the Bobcats waived him in October 2010.

The backup guard later had stints playing overseas and in the D-League, but an opportunity to return to the NBA never came his way.

Gil's reflection

Years later, "Agent Zero" offered a more reflective explanation of the incident . He did not deny that his decision was reckless.

However, Arenas still dismissed the notion that he walked into the Wizards locker room intending to shoot his teammate.

"It really hurt because, you know, back then, you're reading, and you're reading like — you're seeing your name in malice, right? Oh, you know, this is an evil dude, this is the type—like, I mean, worst-case scenario, I'm like 'Dennis the Menace,' right? S—t's fun, right?" Gil once reflected.

"That's what this was: a horrible decision. But it wasn't like I'm coming in there blazing guns and s—t. Like, no, that wasn't me. That was never my intention. I wanted to call his bluff," he added. "We're friends, like, you know what I mean? That's my guy. We eat dinner together, we're in each other's room — that's my guy."

In retrospect, Butler or anybody from the Wizards squad at the time could remember the incident differently. But in the end, Arenas and Crittenton's gun scandal proves that one bad decision is more than enough to change the way an entire career is remembered.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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