"Could've won a national championship" - Matt Barnes gets brutally honest on Gilbert Arenas and his kids playing for same high school team

One-time NBA champion Matt Barnes would have wanted for his high school star twins to play alongside cousin and Gilbert Arenas' son Alijah. But he understood it was not meant to be, and he was fine with it.

He opened up about it in his appearance on the 'No Chill with Gilbert Arenas' podcast when the conversation touched on their children playing for the same high school team.

Barnes, who spent 14 years in the NBA and won an NBA title with the Golden State Warriors in 2017, said:

"I begged Gil, but Gill wouldn't let Alijah play with the twins. I wanted the twins and Alijah to kind of play together because I feel like they could have won a national championship if they put his son with the twins and we had a couple other pieces. But Gil. I respect his angle and his point of view now seeing the player that Alijah has become."

Alijah Arenas is a 6-foot-6 star guard at Chatsworth High School in California. He has a 7-foot wingspan, which he makes full use of as he establishes himself as a steady two-way player. He was a highly sought recruit by big schools like Arizona. Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville but eventually committed to play for USC in college.

Meanwhile, Matt Barnes' twins -- Carter and Isaiah -- are also steadily building their stars at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California. Both play in the backcourt and are expected to be sought out by college programs come 2027.

The kids incidentally are first cousins, with Laura Govan, Alijah's mother, the sister of Gloria Govan, the mom of Isaiah and Carter.

Matt Barnes and Gilbert Arenas support their children's basketball journeys

Having established solid careers in basketball, Matt Barnes and Gilbert Arenas are very supportive of their children as they carve their own path in the sport.

Whenever possible, they watch the games of their children and help oversee development of their game.

"He's preached so much to us. He preached mental toughness, defense, offense, consistency, body language, even playing without the ball," Isaiah Barnes spoke about his father in an interview with Cronkite News.

Mental toughness is something Matt Barnes wants to instill in his kids as they continue with their basketball journey, seeing it as going to be of big help in handling the highs and lows along the way.

Arenas, for his part, wants Alijah to be his own man and not worry about living up to what he had achieved in his NBA career.

"I said, 'Don't worry about trying to live up to my footsteps ... as a high school player, you're far better than me, so that pressure should be gone. Now, let's just get better," 'Agent Zero' told sports journalist Dan Patrick on his podcast.

Both Barnes and Arenas had successful NBA careers, with the former establishing himself as a solid two-way player and winning an NBA title in 2017, and the latter being a three-time NBA All-Star and one of the explosive scoring guards in his prime.