The 2009 locker room incident between Gilbert Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton is one of those moments in sports history that has shaped legacies and remained etched in memory. What started as a gambling dispute quickly escalated into a near-deadly confrontation, forever altering the careers of both players. Over a decade later, Netflix’s Untold: The Shooting Guards has reignited the discussion, bringing the event back into the public eye but raising more questions than answers. Did the documentary capture the full story? And what crucial details remain untold about this pivotal moment in NBA history?
Arenas said during a recent visit on The Dan Patrick Show that he had one significant demand before helping with the Netflix documentary: Crittenton’s viewpoint be featured as well. He stated, “I never wanted to tell it without Javaris’ side.” If told half, the story could represent a different message for either of the sides. So finally, when the documentary aired on Netflix, there was a notable lack in Crittenton’s voice.
He noticed that absence. Not long after the premiere episode for the show came out, Javaris Crittenton was quick to share an Instagram story from Adam L, who had tagged him and wrote, “About to check out this Netflix doc @godfreedcritt.” The repost by Crittenton had a deep response that said, “It gets DEEP bro I just hate that [they] omitted so much.”. Fans and people who work in the NBA talked about whether the documentary respected one of the most famous off-court incidents in NBA history on social media.
What really went down between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton? Unpack how a gambling dispute led to guns drawn in an NBA locker room.
Untold: Shooting Guards premieres May 6. pic.twitter.com/YYTzaRNCu6
— Netflix (@netflix) April 15, 2025
Looking back at this incident from December 2009, it was a seemingly harmless card game gone wrong that sparked the feud. The dispute reportedly began over a gambling debt from a card game called Bourré, with tensions rising between Arenas and Crittenton. The argument escalated over the following days, culminating when Arenas brought several unloaded guns into the Washington Wizards locker room and laid them out in front of Crittenton’s locker with a note that read, “Pick one.”
Crittenton, in response, allegedly pulled out his own loaded weapon. The word got out, and legal fines were given to both players as they were suspended. Arenas acknowledged that what began as bravado ended up escalating, stating, “I called it a bluff,” referring to how he brought an unloaded gun to dispute Crittenton’s threats. But what came next was a major league backlash, media chaos, and the final consequences were amusing. Arenas said, “It calmed down very quickly,” though the harm was done.
How the incident shaped Javaris Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas’ futures
Crittenton’s road deviated sharply, though Untold: The Shooting Guards seeks to highlight Arenas’s development since the event. Crittenton’s life deteriorated after short league stays and ended with a conviction unrelated to basketball that took him to a long prison term. His omission in the documentary might not have been just editorial; it could indicate deeper problems relating to legal restrictions and personal choice. Fans still think the narrative is lacking in his absence.
While this was going on, Arenas found a new life in the media. He’s become more open in everything he does, from podcasts to public appearances through speeches and building his own community. He hopes that his past can serve as both a warning and a lesson in being responsible. But the fact that he urged Crittenton to be included suggests he feels more strongly and maybe even regretfully that their connected lives are talked about too often without fully understanding the situation. Arenas said, “I wanted the real story out there.”
Although people have different opinions about the documentary, it brings up an important point about how stories are told in sports: without all the voices, even the most well-meaning stories can fall short. And that truth still hurts Arenas and Crittenton deeply because their lives were changed forever in a moment of anger. The first episode aired on May 6, on fans can watch this piece on Netflix.
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