Gilbert Arenas relaunches ‘Gil’s Arena’ after Underdog split, adds ESPN’s Iman Shumpert to cast

Gilbert Arenas left his hit NBA digital talk show in April amid a contract dispute with Underdog.

Nearly six months later, Arenas and Gil’s Arena have returned to air with a new cast and corporate partner. Arenas has teamed with Playmaker to monetize the popular show, which he will self-produce. He was joined Monday by returning cast members Josiah Johnson and Nick Young, as well as Arenas’ former Washington Wizards teammate, Brendan Haywood, and ESPN contributor Iman Shumpert.

In a surprising twist, Arenas appears to have retained the Gil’s Arena YouTube channel, which was central to his dispute with Underdog in the spring. Arenas grew the channel’s subscriber base to more than 1.2 million, but Underdog owned it under the terms of his contract with the former fantasy sports brand. Underdog shut down its content arm, transitioned fully into a prediction market, and was sold earlier this year.

Underdog’s shakeup seems to have cut loose the original YouTube channel, allowing the show to premiere to an easy six-figure audience Monday.

With the relaunch of Gil’s Arena, it appears the public dispute between Arenas and Underdog has ended relatively quietly. The recently relaunched Gridiron show previously aired on Arenas’ channel through the Underdog partnership, but a source told Awful Announcing that hosts Skip Bayless and Aqib Talib have taken ownership of that show.

Haywood has previously worked at NBA TV, while Shumpert has become a rising star in ESPN’s NBA coverage over the past two seasons.

A second source told Awful Announcing that additional new cast members will be introduced in the coming days and weeks. The new-look Gil’s Arena will be presented by Polymarket.