You won't believe the reason why a former NBA star signed with the Grizzlies over Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers not only have a rich and winning history in the NBA but also some of the best players of the league have been part of the roster at one point, so it's natural to understand that most of the players that made it professional want to play in LA with the purple and gold.

That's the case of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas who had the opportunity but he decided to go and play for the Memphis Grizzlies instead for personal reasons.

During a recent episode of Gil's Arena, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas revealed a shocking story about the time he joined the Memphis Grizzlies over the Los Angeles Lakers late in his career. Dealing with insecurities over his gun incident, Arenas claims he talked himself out of a job with the Lakers because he felt the Los Angeles media would be too difficult to deal with.

"I tried out for the Lakers after the lockout," Arenas said. "... If I took 300 shots, I might have missed 10. I wanted to prove what my distance was, so I'm shooting right in front of the half-court, I went 18 for 20... The interview started, and I talked myself out of this job... All I thought was LA media, the gun stuff, oh hell no... I'm running line drills, they already know I'm in shape, [I say], 'It's gonna take me about two months to get in-game shape'... So I'm sitting here talking myself out of the LA job. Because I was scared of the media. Am I the same person Kobe thinks he's getting? I don't wanna deal with that, I'll go to Memphis. Left there, said I don't think I'm ready to play this year. Go back home. Go try out for Memphis."

Gilbert Arenas went on to retire from the Memphis Grizzlies

Arenas said he even tried to talk himself out of the Grizzlies job, but ended up taking it when they offered him a contract on the spot. It was a fascinating story from Arenas, who ended up finishing his NBA career with the Grizzlies in 2012.