Gilbert Arenas made the most of his short-lived NBA career except for a championship. Turns out he almost had an opportunity with Dwyane Wade‘s Miami Heat in 2003 to acquire a title. But Pat Riley’s lack of faith did not let this happen, as revealed by Gil on a recent episode of The OGs.

During his appearance on the podcast, Arenas revealed he could’ve been Udonis Haslem and Wade’s teammate on Heat. “I’m a free agent [in 2003], and it’s Lamar Odom, the number one free agent. I’m number two. So you guys already had the Wade. So Pat Riley was coming after me. And they were saying, ‘we’re gonna play you guys (Wade and Arenas) at the one and two…'” he revealed.

The 3x All-Star further revealed Heat considered him to be a fit for shooting guard as the team wanted to try Dwyane Wade as point guard. Or they could’ve taken a reverse approach if felt necessary. However, the then head coach, Riley, didn’t feel comfortable paying a young Gilbert Arenas nearly $55 million, as he was yet to prove himself.

“Cause to be honest, I only played about a total 100 something games my first two years…. So he (Riley) was like, ‘I don’t feel comfortable paying him this type of money,'” the 3x All-Star further added on The OGs.

Statistically speaking, the doubt didn’t make much sense. Although Arenas had an average rookie season, he compiled 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game in his second season, winning Most Improved Player as well. However, in purely monetary terms, this only left a better option open for the 3x All-Star.

As revealed by him on The OGs, Bryon Russell opting out of his deal with Wizards opened more cap space for the franchise. Subsequently, Arenas ended up signing a 6 year, $60 million deal with Wizards. A good deal for the 6’4″ player, considering he did not seem to care much for Riley’s legacy either way.

The time when Gilbert Arenas raised questions on Pat Riley’s championships as a coach

The 79-year-old Heat President won 5 NBA championships as a coach and two as an executive for the franchise. However, the former Wizards star, as per an article by Heat Nation, claimed none of this would’ve been possible for Riley had it not been for time to time generational talents during his career. Arenas claimed Pat’s championships came under three different sets of generational talents.

The first set being Magic Johnson and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, who won him his first 4 championships as the Lakers’ head coach. And his last championship at the head coach position came in 2006 with Heat with Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal on the same team. As for his two championships as a Heat executive, Arenas claims them courtesy of LeBron James and the Big3 factor.

“When you talking about the generational, those difference-makers, that’s who your championships have been built off of. You never won championships with teams,” Gil said. However, those in favor of Pat Riley argue that most coaches have won their championships with at least one generational talent leading the roster. So although it cannot be said concretely enough, Gil has had some issues with Riley. The 3x All Star bashing Riley’s Heat Culture was another instance of this.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.