How Steve Blake once shocked Gilbert Arenas in a fight at Wizards practice originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It can't be easy to shock Gilbert Arenas and especially to do something that makes him think you are the one with a screw loose. But Terps legend Steve Blake is apparently crazy enough to do just that.
Arenas recalled a story from when he and Blake were teammates on the Washington Wizards during a recent episode of his 'No Chill Gil' podcast. They got into a fight at practice and how Blake reacted afterward took Arenas by surprise.
"During practice I elbowed Steve Blake and he swung at me," Arenas said. "I was like 'damn, wait hold on.' Oh, really? Did [he] just throw a punch at me? Is that how we're working here? We're going through it, like wrestling on the floor. Practiced ended. He's like 'alright, man, y'all want to go to Legal Seafood?'"
Arenas couldn't believe Blake wanted to break bread and eat shrimp that soon after a fight.
"What are you talking to me like that for? Don't be talking to me like that. He was like 'let's go to Legal Seafood, food on me; let's go through these plays,'" Arenas said.
Arenas explained how those who knew Blake better had to fill him in. That's just how he rolls.
"No, it's just off the court this is him. On the court, he's a whole different person. Then, we go to Legal Food and talk about plays. We didn't even talk about him throwing a punch at me and us fighting in the corner," Arenas said.
"I didn't understand. I had never seen it before. Usually, you try to hold a grudge. He just completely, it just completely didn't register... I started watching him [after that]. As soon as he hit the lines, his whole demeanor changed."
That is an amazing story and should remind some basketball fans of another fight Blake got into at practice. He famously sparred with John Gilchrist when the two were playing for Maryland. There was a video and everything.
The moral of this story is simple: don't mess with Steve Blake.
