NBA legend and former Washington Wizards All-Star Gilbert Arenas recently shared an update on his son Alijah’s ACL tear. On Tuesday, July 29, Gilbert posted a 55-second reel on Instagram, highlighting how determined Aljah is about growing his game.
Gilbert said his son should realize that recovery is just as important as putting in the work to make it big in basketball. The 43-year-old then detailed what exactly he knows about Alijah’s injury.
“The boy, he just does too much. Like he was fine one day and then he was hurt the next. He was doing bleacher work and he said he was running the bleachers, trying to get in shape for an hour, and he must have been irritated on the bleachers. These four, five, six months, he should learn how to sit down, rest, listen to his body, understand that as much training you do, you’ve got to recover,” the older Arenas said.
Gilbert Arenas acknowledged that time is different from when he was young. He jokingly reminisced that he wouldn’t focus on academics, and that’s something his son should prioritize now.
“He realized he got that part of the gene that just wants to work, and he has to understand you can’t work out four, five times a day, right? School and all that. I told him I didn’t go to school. I trained. Back in my day, school was for fools. You should know everybody who got an A on the team. They didn’t make it. They went to the study hall. I went to the gym,” he added.
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Alijah Arenas suffered an ACL tear last week. It will keep him away from basketball duties for at least six to eight months.
He picked up the injury during a recent practice session with coach Eric Musselman’s USC Trojans, where he is committed to play in his freshman year of college basketball in the 2025-26 season.
Alijah Arenas might miss his rookie season with the USC Trojans
Due to his ACL injury, Alijah Arenas is projected to miss the majority or even his entire freshman season in the 2025-26 campaign for the USC Trojans.
The high school class of 2025 standout signed with the Trojans as the No. 13 nationally ranked five-star recruit in his class, and was supposed to make his debut this year. There is no word yet on a possible redshirt season for Arenas.
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