NBA locker rooms are pressure cookers—emotions boil, egos clash, and sometimes, fists really do fly. One of the most talked-about examples? Back in 2022, during a Warriors practice, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole exchanged words. Nothing new there, right? But then Green walked up on Poole. Poole shoved him. And Green—he didn’t hesitate—he swung. Not a shove, not a tussle. A clean, caught-on-camera punch that rocked the entire Warriors facility. But this is still manageable. Imagine it got so bad, so violent… that you weren’t just shaken. You were scarred for life.
Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton both had promising careers, shaped by their own unique paths. Arenas, a dynamic guard from the University of Arizona, entered the NBA with high expectations but faced challenges early on, including disciplinary issues that saw him fall later in the draft. Crittenton, a standout from Georgia Tech, was drafted by the Lakers but quickly found himself traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and then to the Washington Wizards, where he joined Arenas. Despite their individual struggles, both were moving on the path of a long NBA career. Arenas was an All-Star and a deadly force in the Wizards offence whereas Crittenton was a sophomore in the league looking to get regular playing minutes with the Wizards. But in 2009, things took a drastic turn when a locker room altercation between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton escalated, leading to a confrontation that would forever change both their careers — and the trajectory of the Wizards.
When Arenas sat down on The Dan Patrick Show to talk about the infamous 2009 locker room incident, he didn’t hold back but made one thing clear—he wanted to set the record straight, especially now with the spotlight on it through the Netflix documentary Untold: The Shooting Guards. “That’s a great title, I’m not even gonna lie,” Arenas said, acknowledging the intensity of the situation. But he quickly added that he had one condition for the film to be made. “You know at first I wanted to tell the story, to get the real story out there. But I never wanted to tell it without Javaris’ side.” He wanted to make sure the full picture was told, not just his version.
Sept. 27, 2010; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats guard Javaris Crittenton (8) during media day at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
It all started over a simple card game, but things escalated fast. Javaris, after losing, wasn’t handling it well, and Arenas didn’t like the way he was talking to the other players. “We were playing a card game, and I didn’t like the way he [Javaris] was conversating after losing. I didn’t like the tone that he was saying to the other players,” Arenas explained. As a veteran, Arenas felt it was his responsibility to step in, but things quickly got heated: “It got into a little altercation and we challenged each other. So the challenge was, you know, you going to shoot me?”
But for Arenas, he wasn’t taking it seriously. “I called it a bluff,” he said, and two days later, he even brought a g– into the locker room to call Javaris’ bluff. “Well, I want to see you do it,” Arenas recalled saying, fully knowing the g– had no bullets. Despite the chaos that ensued, Arenas felt the media blew the situation out of proportion: “It wasn’t as drama-filled as you know, the media made it seem, right? It calmed down very quickly.”
However, the fallout from the league and the media wasn’t as easy to calm. Both players were suspended for the remainder of the 2009 season by then-NBA Commissioner David Stern. They pled guilty to misdemeanor weapons charges and received probation, marking a dramatic shift in their careers. And the Netflix documentary delves deeper into what happened and paint a picture of what was the actual reaction from the Wizards players and staff versus how it was perceived by the media.
Gilbert Arenas tries to balance the story in Netflix’s documentary
Directed by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, Untold: Shooting Guards dives into one of the most talked-about moments in NBA history. Produced by Propagate and Stardust Frames Production, the documentary doesn’t just rehash the infamous 2009 locker room incident, but also gives us a closer look at the lives of Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton. We hear from former Wizards players, coaches, and team officials who were there that day, along with sports journalists, legal experts, and even family members, all offering their personal perspectives on what really went down.
But the film isn’t just about that one moment. It takes us back to their early lives, showing how both Arenas and Crittenton grew up and found their way into the NBA. From their humble beginnings to their breakthrough moments, it really gives us a sense of who they were before all the drama hit. We get a peek into their family dynamics and the different paths they took to get to where they were—two young players with big dreams and a lot at stake.
As the documentary unfolds, it shifts to their lives after the incident, revealing how it completely changed the trajectory of their careers. Arenas kept playing in the NBA, later transitioning to sports media, while Crittenton’s life took a darker turn. The film explores their efforts to make sense of what happened and how they’ve each tried to move forward, ultimately showing us the personal growth and reflections they’ve gone through since.
In conclusion, the main idea behind Arenas’ decision to finally open up about the infamous 2009 locker room incident through Netflix’s documentary and set the record straight. He wanted to make sure that both sides of the story were heard, especially Crittenton’s, ensuring the full context of the situation came to light. After years of speculation and misinterpretation, Gilbert Arenas felt it was crucial to clear the air.
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