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The life of an athlete looks like a sweet deal from the outside. However, the challenges they faced, and the rigorous routine they followed for decades, often go unnoticed. In addition to that, their careers are short-lived. This means that an elite athlete would enjoy 15-20 years of stardom and a busy schedule and one day, everything disappears! An ex-NBA star recently detailed the miserable life of an athlete post-retirement.

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The 41-year-old admitted to having lived a miserable life post his retirement. He also narrated full details of what his day-to-day life used to be after he retired. To sum it up in short, Arenas experienced severe angst and emptiness within him, but the details he gave out are shocking.

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NBA Star talks about his life post-retirement

A popular NBA player enjoys 10-15 years of stardom. They turn themselves into brands and retire. All these years of working hard, being the center of attention all their lives, anyone would feel lost after bidding goodbye to the game.

The agony, the pain, and the sentiments are echoed in the voice of Gilbert Arenas. Arenas, a 3x NBA All-Star, played in the league from 2001 to 2012. He retired at the age of 32, considered pretty early for an athlete.

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However, his retirement didn’t go the way he must’ve hoped for. During an interview with DJ VLAD, the 41-year-old talked about taking early retirement and how it affected his life.

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DJ Vlad asks him about spending his days post-retirement, sitting on almost a $100 million net worth.

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All Arenas could say was the word “Miserable.” He explained, after parting ways from the game, his body functioned the same way, but he didn’t have a purpose for it anymore. He said he could smell the seasons changing outside, which used to mean that the games were about to begin. But, he added, “there is no f**k*ng season,” to look forward to, making him feel empty.

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Further, he says, just to kill time, he would drive from Calabasas to downtown, taking the longest route! It reached a point where he would buy a new car, and within a year, it would have over 30,000 miles on it.

Why did Gilbert Arenas retire so early?

Although he didn’t have a stacked resume in the league, there’s no denying that he was a great athlete. However, fate had other plans for him, as he couldn’t play past the age of 32.

Read More: Michael Jordan Was Once Brought to Tears By a 4-Year-Old Child Before the Bulls’ Game

This was due to the injuries that Arenas picked up throughout his 12-year-long career. He was asked about the reason behind his retirement at the age of 32 and he said that it was his injuries that didn’t allow him to play any longer.

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Prateek Singh

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Prateek Singh is a senior NBA writer for EssentiallySports, known for his insightful coverage of the league. With a deep passion for basketball fueled by the late Kobe Bryant's championship runs, Prateek has built his writing career on astute analysis and a firm understanding of the game. His area of expertise lies in breaking down trade reports and their implications for fans. His heartwarming coverage of tributes to NBA legend Magic Johnson’s father after his passing saw very high ratios of fan engagement. While this serves as a step closer to him writing a biography on his idol Kobe Bryant, for now, his focus is on delivering trustworthy coverage of the league he loves.

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Edited by

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Saumya Khanduja

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