Dame & Hali Are BACK, Giannis Embraces Heat Culture & D-Mitch Defends Harden's Legacy Part 1

Josiah Johnson (0:00)

Welcome back to Gil's Arena, presented by Polymarket, empowered by PlayMaker, whoa, whoa!

Brendan Haywood (0:03)

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Josiah Johnson (0:08)

Lovely Thursday here in the arena, almost Friday. Almost get a day off. We are so close.

This is Gil's Arena. I'm merely a host, Josiah Johnson, here with NBA legend, 2K Unc with badges, and theater king, Gilbert Arenas.

Gilbert Arenas (0:21)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Josiah Johnson (0:26)

Yeah. You've been dressing real nice lately, ain't I?

Brendan Haywood (0:31)

That new budget must have kicked in, man.

Gilbert Arenas (0:35)

On court.

Josiah Johnson (0:37)

Got some images here.

Gilbert Arenas (0:39)

You know, got to be a scholar now.

Josiah Johnson (0:44)

We're joined by NBA champion of the world and creator of the Tallest Tales Network on YouTube, Brendan Haywood, finally back in the arena.

Brendan Haywood (0:52)

Yes, sir. We back like we never left.

Josiah Johnson (0:55)

B-Wood, they've been asking for you, the Chats, McClaren, man.

SPEAKER_4 (0:59)

The streets need me for your boy back.

Brendan Haywood (1:00)

You know what I'm saying? Your boy back.

Josiah Johnson (1:03)

And making his return to the arena, we got an LA Hoops legend who went straight from high school to the pros, won a chip with the Heat in 2006, played 11 seasons in the league. He's also the co-founder of the ACE members only lifestyle brand, Dorrel Wright. Welcome back to Gil's Arena.

Dorrel Wright (1:23)

Appreciate it, bro. Thanks for having me, man.

Josiah Johnson (1:25)

We appreciate you came through with some nice gear for us. You got the ACE Lifestyle brand. What's going on with that?

Dorrel Wright (1:30)

Yeah, man. Myself and D-Way started a golf brand a couple of years ago, man. So we've been taking off the last couple of months. I just did the ACE Cup at Pebble Beach and just trying to get more kids in the inner city in the game, the black and brown community.

And yeah, just trying to let those kids pick up a club like they pick up a basketball at an early age. Okay.

Josiah Johnson (1:49)

I heard golf, Tiger Wu, or like him.

Gilbert Arenas (1:51)

I thought you were going to say something else, that they pick up at an early age.

Brendan Haywood (1:54)

Let me stop you, stop you, stop you.

Gilbert Arenas (1:58)

How many balls? The ball was good too.

Josiah Johnson (2:03)

Well, we got a lot to get into. Here's what's cracking in the arena today.

Dame Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton both made their return to the court after Achilles' injuries. What are realistic expectations for the All-Star Guards this season?

Giannis says that heat culture is real and it's almost like being alive again. Will the Greek freak become the next superstar to take his talent to South Beach and raise a banner? And Donovan Mitchell continues to defend James Harden's basketball legacy. How much pressure is on the Cavs back court to build on their Eastern Conference Finals run last season analytically?

They should have been in the finals. Did not happen. We will discuss.

Mostly fans, back for our Super Chat. Throw some in the offering plate and drop your questions. We'll pick some to answer at the end of the show. You guys have been doing a great job with these questions. We had like a 20-minute discussion on one of your Super Chat questions yesterday. So keep dropping them in and we'll keep getting to them. But first, I need to tell y'all about this new sports trading app I discovered. It's called Polymarket. It's the most exciting way to trade in sports and it's a nationwide federally regulated prediction market. Polymarket is the best prediction market, better than Cauchy, Draft Kings and FanDuel. In the past, if you wanted to position on a game, you put your money in and get locked in until the very end. But Polymarket lets you trade games like you would a stock, buying in and selling out entirely on your terms. When your team drops to 20 cents, you buy the dip. When they jump to 40 cents, you sell locking your gains and double your money without waiting for the final whistle. It isn't just sports. You can trade on culture, news, and current events. Plus, they have a squad feature where you can talk and trade with your friends. Any trade of member places drops right into the chat as a card, and anyone can hit buy to take that same pick in one tap. Diss the old limitations and trade on your terms. Download the Polymarket app and use code ARENA. When you deposit just $10, you'll unlock $25 in bonus funds. That's code ARENA to get $25 in bonus funds when you deposit $10 on Polymarket. Shout out again to everybody on Twitch. We're getting our numbers right on Twitch, Gil.