Most fans when they hear the name Gilbert Arenas, their mind immediately goes to that one incident in a certain locker room, involving a certain teammate and a certain firearm. I get it. The day and age we live in seems to feed off of others mistakes. One false move can make or break a legacy in the eyes of most fans, writers, reporters and critics. Not this writer. Not this fan. When I think of the career of Gilbert Arenas, I think of probably one of the most overlooked and under appreciated players in NBA history. I think of someone who has had to prove his worth at every level until he finally put the world on notice with an incredible stretch of play that put him among the top names in the sport. With his unique ability to pull up and drain a shot from anywhere past half court and simultaneously having the moves to finish strong downhill after leaving his defender in the dust, Arenas ascended to superstardom. I also unfortunately think of a knee injury that altered the path of his career and ultimately cut it short well before it was meant to come to an end.
During his senior year of high school, Arenas averaged 34 points per game and was expecting to recieve multiple offers from all the top colleges in the country including his hometown UCLA Bruins. The Bruins, along with most other top schools in the country, did not share the same enthusiasm and decided to pass on him. Gil ultimately ended up at Arizona to play for the Wildcats. In just 2 short years, he would end up making all those that passed on him pay en route to a National Title Game berth. Arenas led a team in scoring that included future NBA talent such as Richard Jefferson and Luke Walton, with 16.5 points per game while shooting a ridiculous 42.5% from 3 point range. Despite Arizona head coach Lute Olson’s plea to continue in school, Arenas decided to declare for the NBA draft, projecting himself as a lottery pick.
Again overlooked and under appreciated, Arenas dropped to the second round and 31st pick to the Golden State Warriors. Many scouts had considered him to be too young and skinny to be an impactful player in the league. Being banished to the bench and 3rd string, this was all the fuel he would need to start the fire in him that eventually catapaulted him among the elite. After seeing very little time his rookie year, Arenas earned the starting role by year 2. Gilbert made a career out of proving those who snubbed him wrong and the first instance of this was the Rookie/Sophomore game during All-Star Weekend. Arenas was passed up for the game his rookie year but by year 2, he not only was selected to the roster, he came out and won MVP honors. He finished that season with the Warriors and was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. When asked about the award Arenas simply replied, “I was always good“. Without any financial flexibility, the Warriors would be forced to let Arenas walk in free agency, a move that I am thinking they wished they freed up some cap space to avoid. Arenas would be highly sought after with his stock clearly trending in an upward direction. Ultimately he would sign a 6-yr/60 million dollar contract with the Washington Wizards and go on a tear that would take the league by storm.
There was a learning curve his first year in Washington, but by the second year coupled with fellow guard Larry Hughes, he led the highest scoring backcourt in the NBA with 25.2 ppg, good enough for 4th in the league. he was also ranked 4th in steals per game that year. A fiery player full of emotion and little restraint, Arenas led the Wizards year in and year out in scoring and on the defensive side of the ball. He always rose to the occasion in the biggest momments and in the biggest games. It seemed inevitable that if his team needed a big shot to win, Arenas would drain it and set the arena ablaze whether on the road or at home. Paired with Antwan Jamison and Caron Butler in 2005-2006, Arenas led the Wizards in being the highest scoring team in the NBA. One of his biggest moments was dropping 60 points on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. No moment or matchup was ever too big for the budding superstar. After being left off the FIBA World Championship roster, Arenas again internally vowed revenge. The next time he saw USA Director Jerry Colangelo’s Phoenix Suns, he exploded for 54 points seemingly staring Colangelo down after every bucket. lesson learned. Do no ignite a fire you cannot put out.
What followed was a series of unfortunate events that led to Arenas calling it an early career. In 2007, after a collison on the court, he suffered a torn MCL in his knee and missed almost 2 entire seasons of play. He was never the same after he returned. There were glimpses of the pre-injured Agent Zero, but never to the consistent level it once was. After the infamous incident all but sealed his exit from Washington, Arenas gave it a few more shots with the Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, and the Shanghai Sharks of the CBA in China. There is no doubt in my mind that had it not been for the knee injury, Arenas would be in the conversation among the all time greats at his position. No really, he was that damn good. He is easily one of the best isolation players I have ever seen play the game.
These day Arenas is a full time father and coach in Los Angeles. He also has one of the best podcasts out there right now in “The No Chill Podcast”. He still carries around the demeanor and swag of super confidence that often annoyed reporters and fans alike but who wouldn’t? He had to not only earn everything he ever achieved and work harder than most to do so. He had to spend tireless amount of time in the gym when others were home sleeping in their beds. He was another example of first one in the gym, last one to leave and it paid off! He is the epitome of what can happen when you ignore the naysayers and instead use it as motivation to make them eat their words. If anything Gilbert Arenas is a good example of perserverance and heroics than whatever you may think of him because he got into a little trouble. Regardless of what people want to say, It was so much fun watching him play growing up and I for one do not let others dictate how a player should be recognized by me. The media will tell you today to focus on the negative narratives and use that to jumpstart a career in this business. I say screw that, why the hell am I going to punish a man for an isloated incident where no one was hurt when the fact remains he brought myself and my friends so much joy through the game of basketbal?! Not me. I would rather him be remembered as Agent Zero, the man that proved everybody wrong and made it, just like I am going to.
To The Rack With Mac 