Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas is one interesting character. Never afraid to shy away from controversy during his playing days, the former second-round pick has taken that to new levels following his retirement.
Just a week after indicating that San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard is not a top-five player in the Association, Arenas made sure to note who he thinks is the favorite to win the NBA title of the four teams remaining in the playoffs.
Yup, he bet a cool $500,000 on the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the championship.
With wins in their first nine playoff games, LeBron James and Co. are surely favorites to win the Eastern Conference. At that point, they would then take on either the Golden State Warriors or the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals.
To be sure, it’s a pretty risky wager. Golden State won a NBA-record 73 games during the regular season and defeated Cleveland in the Finals last June.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City has won four consecutive games against the Spurs and Warriors after its Game 1 win in Oakland on Monday.
Though, we should put this wager into perspective. Arenas earned a whopping $163 million during his 13-year NBA career. It’s not like losing $500,000 would break him.