Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (born January 6, 1982 in Tampa,[1] Florida[2]) is an American professional basketball player. As of November 2007, he plays for the NBA's Washington Wizards. Arenas overcame his modest NBA debut, including being a second-round draft pick, to establish himself as one of the most dominant and clutch players in the NBA.

From the time of his entry into the league, Arenas's popularity soared. He transformed himself from being a relative unknown to being voted by fans as an All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference in 2007. Arenas overcame a 213,000 vote deficit at one point to edge out Vince Carter by just over 3,000 votes for the second of the two starting guard spots, the other spot going to Dwyane Wade.[3] Arenas was most often nicknamed "Agent Zero," but has increasingly been referred to as "Hibachi."[4] Both names have quickly become fan favorites in the Washington area.
Contents
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* 1 Rise to prominence
o 1.1 2005-06 season
o 1.2 2006-07 season
* 2 Player profile
* 3 "Gilbertology"
* 4 Personal life
* 5 Awards/honors
o 5.1 Career records
o 5.2 NBA records
* 6 References
* 7 See also
* 8 External links

[edit] Rise to prominence

While going into the 2001 NBA Draft out of the University of Arizona, Gilbert did not seem much of a prospect. Teams in the first round passed on Arenas because he lacked the size needed at the shooting guard position in the NBA and lacked the awareness and ball handling skills of a point guard. With no position solidified and a shaky prospect at best, he went the entire 1st round without being drafted. The Golden State Warriors finally drafted him in the second round (31st overall). Although the Warriors did not enjoy much team success during Arenas' tenure with them, he quickly established himself as one of the league's bright young talents. In 2003, his second year in the league, Arenas received the NBA Most Improved Player Award. After that season, he was one of the most sought-after free agents of the NBA. He signed with the Washington Wizards, reportedly after flipping a coin to decide among several teams, including the Wizards, Warriors, and Los Angeles Clippers.[5]

Arenas had a disappointing first season with the Wizards, battling a strained abdominal muscle injury all season. However, Arenas enjoyed great success in his second season in Washington. He teamed up with shooting guard Larry Hughes (22.0 points per game) in 2004-05 to give the Wizards the highest scoring backcourt duo in the NBA and was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game. He guided the team to a 45-win season and its first playoff berth since 1997. Arenas led the team in scoring with 25.5 ppg, and finished seventh in the league in that category. He also finished sixth in the league in steals per game in 2004-05 with 1.74 (Hughes led the league with 2.89 steals per game).

Known for his fierce competitiveness and somewhat unusual behavior, Arenas quickly became a fan favorite in Washington. In the fifth game of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2005, Arenas hit a 16-foot fadeaway as time expired to give the Wizards a 112-110 win over the Chicago Bulls. The Wizards eventually won the series, the franchise's first such victory in more than a decade.

[edit] 2005-06 season

Arenas had a career year during the 2005-06 season in which he averaged 29.3 points, which ranked fourth among the scoring leaders, two steals (also fourth), and 6.1 assists per game. Despite his accomplishments, neither fans nor coaches would select Arenas to the 2006 All-Star Game. He was able to get in due to the injury to Indiana Pacers forward/center Jermaine O'Neal. He was also able to get in to the Three-point Shootout because Phoenix Suns guard Raja Bell was excused due to a family illness. Arenas was the runner up to Dirk Nowitzki in the contest.[6]

On February 25, 2006, Arenas scored 46 points in less than 30 minutes, setting the NBA record for the most points scored in 30 minutes or fewer of playing time since the 24-second shot clock was implemented in 1954. He put up twelve 40-point games and forty three 30-point games in the 2005-06 NBA season.[7]

During the offseason, Arenas said that he was willing to take a pay cut in order to give the Wizards additional money with which to sign available free agents. He has expressed a desire to win a championship with the Wizards.

[edit] 2006-07 season

It was during this season that Arenas established himself as one of the greatest clutch players in the NBA. On January 3 of the season, Arenas hit a 32-foot buzzer beater to win the game against the Milwaukee Bucks, 108-105. Two weeks later on Martin Luther King Day he hit yet another buzzer-beating three pointer to beat the Utah Jazz, 114-111, in a thriller at the Verizon Center. He also hit a game-winning layup as time expired to beat the Seattle Supersonics on March 22, 2007.

In an overtime game versus the Los Angeles Lakers on December 17, 2006 at the Staples Center, Arenas scored a career high 60 points, adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists in helping lead the Wizards over the Lakers 147-141. Arenas now holds the Wizards' franchise record for most points scored in a game by an individual. The previous record was held by Earl Monroe with 56 points, achieved in 1968 which was also an overtime game against the Lakers. His 16 points in the extra period also set an NBA record for most points in one overtime period, surpassing Earl Boykins' record by one point. [8]

Gilbert became noted during the season for his anger with his snub by Team USA for the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Although Team USA Managing Director Jerry Colangelo and Assistant Coach Mike D'Antoni blamed Arenas's not making the team because of injury, there is evidence that he would not have been chosen anyway due to his scant playing time during preliminaries.

Arenas himself has noted that he withdrew from the United States national team for the 2006 FIBA World Championship because he felt that assistant coaches Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan had pre-determined the roster even prior to tryouts. Afterward, he stated that he planned on averaging 50 points against their respective teams (Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers). He succeeded at his goal versus power house Phoenix (reportedly eyeing in the direction of Suns' Chairman Colangelo and Suns' coach Mike D'Antoni after making backbreaking shots, including a miraculous scoop shot to send the game into overtime as specifically detailed by the Washington Post on December 23). However, he was held to a lowly nine points in a loss versus Portland.

On January 26th, 2007, Gilbert was voted as a first-time starter for the 2007 NBA All-Star game for the Eastern Conference, edging out Vince Carter by a slight margin.

Towards the end of the season, Arenas tore his MCL during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats when Gerald Wallace fell into his leg. The Wizards struggled to finish the season with Arenas and teammate Caron Butler both being injured. Washington earned a playoff berth, but was swept in the first round in a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

During the offseason, Arenas told the Washington Post that he would "opt out" of his contract after the 2007-08 season, making him a free agent. He stated, "…if something happens where they don't want me or they're going in a different direction, I can look elsewhere. But my intentions are not to leave."[9]

[edit] Player profile

Arenas is a prototype "shoot-first pass-second" point guard. He is a highly skilled scorer who currently scores at a rate of almost 30 points per game (2005-06 regular season average: 29.3), often using his trademark slashing drives to the basket as well as his long-range jumpshot. He is also one of the best ball thieves in the NBA, currently 2nd in the steals category with 63 and 2.0 steals per game (as of January 4, 2007).

However, his assists per game lifetime average is an unremarkable 5.4, and moreover, he is very turnover-prone, as his lifetime TO rate of 3.35 per game proves (he also "leads" the 2006 TO statistics with 3.71 and the previous three years in the top ten). In addition, his on-ball defensive game is still considered below average.

In spite of his critics, he is currently lauded as one of the best guards in the game, as his 2006 Eastern Conference All-Star call-up indicates