"I thought he was in jail": Gilbert Arenas mistakes NBA star Austin Rivers for 'Top G' Andrew Tate

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas hilariously mistook free agent guard Austin Rivers for controversial social media personality "Top G" Andrew Tate. During a segment of his podcast, "Gills Arena," Arenas' fellow panelists watched and spoke about Rivers' recent comments on Damian Lillard's trade request without mentioning the former's name.

One of the guests jokingly spoke about how Rivers films his podcasts and Arenas believed they were talking about Andrew Tate all this while. He asked whether the former boxer was still in jail as his co-panelists cleared his confusion.

"I thought he was in jail," said Arenas, referring to Tate's arrest in Romania in December 2022.

The rest of the crew were surprised as they thought Austin Rivers was in jail when Gilbert Arenas asked that question. However, Arenas quickly admitted that he was confused about the situation. He said:

"Oh I thought that was Andrew Tate."

Austin Rivers and Andrew Tate would have an uncanny resemblance if the former went bald or the latter had hair. They have the same facial features, skin tone and beard style that may have hilariously confused Gilbert Arenas.

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What did Austin Rivers say about Damian Lillard's trade request?

Austin Rivers passionately ranted while discussing Damian Lillard's trade request to the Miami Heat. He wasn't impressed with Lillard and other star players having preferred landing spots as trade candidates. Rivers reckoned it was 'bad for business.'

“If you’re a free agent then you can choose where you’re gonna go. That’s the business. But when you’re not and you sign a deal ... that’s part of the business. If you get traded somewhere, you gotta go play,” said Rivers.

“This started with James [Harden] and Ben [Simmons] doing this s---. It’s bad for the league,” Rivers added. “It’s a scary dynamic when stars start acting like this. And I’m not a big fan of it.”

Lillard is under contract through 2026 without a trade clause that gives Portland the leverage to accept deals they find best suited for their interests should the seven-time All-Star leave. The Trail Blazers will commit to a rebuild around newly drafted Scoot Henderson with other young pieces like Shaedon Sharpe and potentially Anfernee Simons.

The Heat remain favorites to land Damian Lillard at this stage. The player and his agent have made their feelings well-known around the league, seeing other interested suitors backing off from making a trade proposal for the former Rookie of the Year.