Did Gilbert Arenas face prison time for pulling a gun on Javaris Crittenton? Recalling what happened in the aftermath of infamous saga
Gilbert Arenas has made a name for himself as a figure in the sports media space, but he still has some demons from his NBA career. With the release of Netflix's new documentary "Untold", a serious incident between then Washington Wizards guards Arenas and Javaris Crittenton was revisited. The documentary dives into the conflict between the two former teammates in its second episode.
Gilbert Arenas was a three-time All-Star during his 11-year career, as well as one of the NBA's loudest personalities. He is best known for his time with the Washington Wizards, where he was one of the best guards in the league. Javaris Crittenton, on the other hand, was a much lesser known player who spent the majority of his last season in the NBA with Washington in the 2008-2009 season.
The conflict between Arenas and Crittenton allegedly began when gambling debt was brought up on the team plane. Arenas took things to a new level when he brought firearms to the Wizards locker room and told Crittenton to select one. In response to Arenas' challenge, Crittenton pulled out a loaded gun.
When David Stern, who was NBA Commissioner at the time, heard about the incident, he immediately suspended both Gilbert Arenas and Crittenton for the rest of the season. Arenas returned to Washington the next season while Crittenton's career ended after just two years.
When the issue went to court, Crittenton was charged with misdemeanor gun possession and given probation. Arenas, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to felony gun charges and was sentenced to two years' probation, 400 hours of community service, a $5,000 fine and 30 days in a halfway house. The guard did not face any prison time for the incident, though.
Javaris Crittenton's incident with Gilbert Arenas wasn't his only crime with firearms
While both former players got off relatively easy after the incident in 2009, Crittenton saw himself back in court facing more charges just six years later. Gilbert Arenas' former teammate was involved in a gang-related shooting that killed a mother of four in 2011 and pleaded guilty in 2015, when he was sentenced to 23 years in jail.
Arenas has spoken about the instance sparingly throughout the years. According to him, the conflct was not about gambling at all. The situation was just an escalation of the two talking trash to one another during their time as teammates.
While Crittenton is still in prison, Gilbert Arenas has put the incident behind him. However, the new Netflix documentary serves as a reminder that the former All-NBA guard wasn't as perfect as person as his fans thought.
