Gilbert Arenas reveals what LeBron James muttered during infamous ‘free throw ‘ shot incident: “One man just owned me”
LeBron James and Gilbert Arenas found themselves in a first-round duel in the 2006 NBA playoffs. It was a neck-and-neck game until James altered the possibility of a Game 7. Although the Cleveland Cavaliers won the series in six games, Arenas had the opportunity to force a seventh game had he made his two free throws during the latter part of Game 6.
As Arenas was about to make his foul shots, LeBron James approached "Agent Zero" and played mind games with him. James reminded Arenas that if he missed the free throws, Cleveland would win the series. While fans remember this moment to be savage, apparently it was all fun and games for LeBron and Arenas.
Gilbert Arenas recently told the real story behind the infamous free throws on VladTV. Apparently, during their series against each other in 2006, Arenas would hang out at LeBron James' condo to catch up with his former teammate Larry Hughes and gamble money with him and Damon Jones. Arenas constantly beat Jones in gambling to the point that he owed the Wizards star $35.
Unfortunately for Arenas, Jones' debt got in the way of their first-round matchup. As Arenas was about to knock down two big free throws to force a Game 7, not only did LeBron James point out that they'd win if he missed the shots, but he'd lose the bet to Jones as well. Arenas ended up missing both free throws, and Jones ultimately sealed the game with a clutch jumper off the bench.
"LeBron James not passing the ball to a dude who ain't played two games, ain't played this game, ain't got a shot up no way," Arenas said. "Sure enough, (LeBron) dribbles to the left f***ing passed the ball to Damon Jones.
"Damon Jones hits the f***ing jumper. Like, you talking about, like, you know how sick your stomach feel. Like, out of all people on that f***ing team that you had to put in and not the goddamn tenant that I've been f***ing trolling for the last two years.
"And, like, it was just one of those things, like, after that he just this one man just owned me. I was like I'm, like, 'I don't even want my money now, bro. Just get the f*** out of here.'"
Looking back at the time LeBron James destroyed the Washington Wizards in the 2006 NBA playoffs
Gilbert Arenas was one of the most explosive players in the NBA in the early 2000s. Unfortunately for him, he ran into a prime LeBron James in the 2006 NBA playoffs. Although their first-round bout against each other was somewhat neck-and-neck, LeBron didn't make it easy for the Washington Wizards.
Throughout the series, the young James was unstoppable. He averaged 35.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals in six games. LeBron even had two 40-point outings: 41 in Game 3 and 45 in Game 4.
While Washington put up a good fight, looking at the way LeBron James played on a nightly basis, there was no way the Cleveland Cavaliers were losing the series.