By Kahari S. Nash “The BooRay! King” & CEO KSN Gaming
2 Lives Collided Over a Card Game… BooRay!
The heart of Untold: Shooting Guards beats through a high-stakes card game that changed two lives forever. BooRay, a popular game among NBA players, ignited a confrontation between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton that ended with guns drawn in the locker room. What started as a joke and a debt spiraled into a moment that would derail both careers.
Gilbert’s Pranks Went Too Far
Gilbert Arenas was known for his eccentric personality and locker room pranks. But sometimes, he didn’t know where the line was. His teasing, which once made him a fan favorite, crossed into dangerous territory. The incident with Crittenton wasn’t an isolated joke—it was the culmination of a pattern that often rubbed teammates and executives the wrong way.
Javaris’ Anger Got the Best of Him
Crittenton, younger and less established, felt the weight of disrespect differently. For him, Arenas’ antics weren’t harmless—they were humiliating. The tension boiled over into retaliation, and his decision to bring a loaded weapon into the locker room ended his NBA journey before it ever fully took off.
Javaris Felt Disrespected
For many athletes, especially young Black men in hyper-competitive environments, respect is currency. When Crittenton felt that Arenas played with that, he didn’t see it as a joke. He saw it as a challenge. The documentary shows how easily pride, pressure, and provocation can combust when unresolved tensions fester behind the scenes.
Javaris Being Robbed Twice Created PTSD
The documentary hints at a deeper layer behind Crittenton’s actions—trauma. He had been robbed at gunpoint twice in the months prior. That lingering fear and anxiety weren’t visible in the locker room, but they were real. His reaction wasn’t just about Arenas; it was about the world around him closing in.
Gilbert’s Timeline Started in LA, Javaris’ in ATL
Their backgrounds shaped their outlooks. Arenas, raised in Los Angeles by a single father, learned to use humor and swagger as armor. Crittenton, from Atlanta, was a quiet grinder raised by a single mother, trying to make it out with hard work and discipline. The same league, the same locker room—but two very different lives crashing into each other.
Gilbert’s Pranks Cost Him the First Round—And He’d Do It Again
Arenas admits his immaturity cost him a first-round draft slot. Still, he says he wouldn’t change a thing. That unapologetic attitude is part of what made him great, and also what made him unpredictable. He lived life his way—even when it cost him millions and a career legacy.
Final Thoughts
Shooting Guards isn’t just about a locker room gone wrong—it’s about trauma, ego, and how the smallest spark can start a fire in the pressure-cooker world of professional sports. BooRay may have started the story, but it was pride, pain, and personality that wrote the ending. Netflix’s latest Untold doesn’t ask you to pick a side—it asks you to look deeper.
