Former NBA player Matt Barnes denies that he was scammed out of $61,000 by an AI model on a dating app - and he is furious that the rumor is making its rounds on the internet. Barnes, 45, said he has been on a trip to Dubai and came back to the wild rumor, spurred by his friend, former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, bringing it up on his "Gil's Arena" podcast. "2025 has been a crazy year, man," Barnes said in a video posted via Instagram on Monday, December 8. "When I look back on this year in 10 to 15 years, it's gonna be like, damn.