Gilbert Arenas

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Gilbert Arenas
Position Point guard/Shooting guard
Nickname Hibachi
Gil
The Black President
G.A.
Stealth
East Coast Assassin
Agent Zero
League NBA
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg)
Team Washington Wizards
Nationality Flag of United States United States
Born January 6, 1982
Los Angeles, California
High school Grant,
Van Nuys, California
College Arizona
Draft 2nd round, 31st overall, 2001
Golden State Warriors
Pro career Golden State Warriors 2001 – 2003
Washington Wizards 2003 – present

Gilbert Jay Arenas (born January 6, 1982 in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Washington Wizards. He is also a member of the USA national basketball team. Arenas is of Cuban and African-American descent.

Contents

[edit] Rise to prominence

Both a point guard and shooting guard, Arenas previously played for the Golden State Warriors, who drafted him in the second round (31st overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft out of the University of Arizona. Although the Warriors did not enjoy much team success during Gilbert's tenure with them, he quickly established himself as one of the league's bright young talents. In 2003, his second year in the league, Gilbert was selected to receive the NBA Most Improved Player Award. After that season was one of the most sought-after free agents of the NBA off-season. Gilbert signed with the Washington Wizards, reportedly after flipping a coin ten times to decide between the Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers. Though he was hoping to play for his hometown of Los Angeles, when the coin came up seven times in the Clippers' favor, Gilbert felt that it was a sign for him to go with Washington.[citation needed]

Arenas had a disappointing first season with the Wizards, battling a strained abdominal muscle injury all season. Gilbert 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 1998. 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, strong work ethic, and somewhat unusual behavior, Arenas quickly became a fan favorite in Washington (an example of his quirky behavior includes during a regular season game, his attempt to make a free-throw by bouncing his shot off the floor, which missed badly and drew confused stares as people wondered if it was an actual free-throw attempt).

[edit] 2005-06 NBA 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. Since then, he has been averaging 31 ppg on 48 percent shooting, about 2.5 steals per game, and 6.7 assists per game. 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 [1].

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 has put up twelve 40-point games and forty three 30-point games this season. [2]

During the offseason, Arenas said that he was willing to take a pay cut in order to give the Wizards additional money to sign available free agents with. He has expressed a desire to win a championship with Washington. [1]

In the summer of 2006, Gilbert Arenas was arrested for supposedly interfering with police when they were arresting his teammate Avwee Storey for blocking traffic. However, Arenas denies that he had been disobeying police orders. He was processed and released the following day. Charges against both players were later dropped.

[edit] Player profile

Arenas is a prototype "shoot-first pass-second" point guard. He is a highly gifted scorer who is able to score at a clip of almost 30 points per night (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 161 (as of May 6) and 2.0 steals per game (as of November 16).

Arenas also has incredible range, even for a 3pt shooter, oftentimes launching shots well beyond the 3-point line, catching the defender well off guard and stunned as the shot goes in. A notable shot was a buzzer beater against Cleveland in the first round of the 2006 Playoffs. Arenas dribbled upcoart, saw his defender sagging off, took a mere two steps pass the halfcourt line, and drained the 3 that sent the game into overtime.

Arenas' critics point out his limited playmaking ability. 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 defensive game is still considered average (he has yet to be elected into an All-Defensive Team).

However, in spite of that, he is currently lauded as one of the best point men in the game, as his 2006 Eastern Conference All-Star call-up shows. [3]

[edit] "Gilbertizology"

When shooting free throws, Arenas is known to spin the ball around his waist and dribble the ball three times before shooting to help him be more relaxed at the foul line.

In the Greater Washington area "Gilbertology" is the name given to his often bizarre behavior on and off the court, first coined by Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan. While with the Warriors, he once took a shower at half time in full uniform [4]. Before every game he would take a teammate's jersey and hide it in the locker room to make them look for it. Also, Arenas can often be seen playing online poker during half-time of games[2], instead of resting or preparing for the second half. Gilbert Arenas disputes the accuracy of the story, saying he was misquoted. Arenas says he does not play for money nor does he play online; instead, he plays on a DVD game of poker.

At the end of each game, regardless of whether it at home or on the road, Arenas takes off his jersey and tosses it to the crowd. He originally tossed his shoes into the crowd, explaining that jerseys were too expensive for him to pay for every game. After he signed a lucrative new deal with Washington, he began to throw his jerseys out. Gilbert agreed to become a team captain for the 2005-06 season after declining the previous year because he said that many times he didn't even believe the things he was saying to his teammates. He has recently been given the nickname "The Black President", and calls himself the "East Coast Assassin", in reference to his quest to prove his abilities to those who did not vote for him to be a 2006 Eastern All Star reserve.

In October 2006, an ESPN.com story stated that Arenas was converting his Washington, D.C. home to simulate high-altitude conditions, stating that he hoped the arrangement would help him have more energy, especially late in games.[5]

At the Wizards' first home game on November 4, during the introductions, Arenas came out wearing a blue robe with a hood, looking like a boxer. He was supposed to resemble a "wizard."

During the 2006 NBA season, he began to shout the word hibachi as he took field goal attempts in games, explaining, "You know, a hibachi grill gets real hot. That's what my shot's like, so I've been calling it that: 'Welcome to the hibachi'."[6]

[edit] Awards/honors

  • 2-time NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006
  • 2-time All-NBA:
  • Third Team: 2005, 2006
  • NBA Most Improved Player Award: 2003
  • 2003 All-Star Rookie/Sophomore Game MVP: 2003
  • NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2002
  • NBA regular-season leader, minutes played: 2006 (3,384)
  • Holds Washington Wizards franchise record for most three-point field goals made, all-time with 529 (as of the 2005-06 NBA season).

[edit] Career records

  • Career 40+ point games (regular season): 23
  • Career triple-doubles (regular season): 2
  • Career 40+ point games (Playoffs): 1

[edit] Trivia

  • Gilbert Arenas wears the number 0 on his jersey because that is how many minutes his critics said he would play for his college team, the University of Arizona. [3]
  • His paternal great-grandfather was originally from Cuba. [7]
  • He also collects jerseys of players, and has over 200.[citation needed]
  • Gilbert mentors a D.C. boy who lost his family in a fire at age 10. He takes him shopping, bowling, and acts as brotherly figure toward the boy.[citation needed]
  • Arenas was featured on a SLAM Magazine cover in September 2006 [8].
  • Arenas is a good friend of rapper The Game and was listed in the booklet for The Game's sophomore album The Doctor's Advocate.
  • Arenas wears size 13 sneakers on the court even though his feet are size 14½. [9]
  • Gilbert officially owns Team Final Boss, a professional Halo 2 team.[citation needed]
  • Played with teammate Antawn Jamison earlier in his career with the Golden State Warriors.
  • Has a daughter (born December 12, 2005). He has a tattoo of her on his chest. [citation needed]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/02/18/bc.bkn.all.star.3.point.ap/index.html
  2. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/26/AR2006022601397.html
  3. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/gilbert_arenas/index.html
  4. ^ http://kfba.net/WebModules/Players/Player.aspx?PlayerID=81
  5. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2610922
  6. ^ Associated Press (2006). NBA - Charlotte Bobcats/Washington Wizards Recap Friday December 1, 2006. Retrieved December 2, 2006.
  7. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12185-2005Apr23.html
  8. ^ http://slamonline.com/online/2006/09/slam-102-covers-revealed
  9. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12185-2005Apr23.html

Gilbert Arenas is the shit!!!

[edit] External links

2001 NBA Draft
First Round
Kwame Brown | Tyson Chandler | Pau Gasol | Eddy Curry | Jason Richardson | Shane Battier | Eddie Griffin | DeSagana Diop | Rodney White | Joe Johnson | Kedrick Brown | Vladimir Radmanovic | Richard Jefferson | Troy Murphy | Steven Hunter | Kirk Haston | Michael Bradley | Jason Collins | Zach Randolph | Brendan Haywood | Joseph Forte | Jeryl Sasser | Brandon Armstrong | Raul Lopez | Gerald Wallace | Jamaal Tinsley | Tony Parker |
Second Round
Trenton Hassell | Gilbert Arenas| Omar Cook | Will Solomon | Terence Morris | Brian Scalabrine | Jeff Trepagnier | Damone Brown | Mehmet Okur | Michael Wright | Earl Watson | Jamison Brewer | Bobby Simmons | Eric Chenowith | Kyle Hill | Sean Lampley | Loren Woods | Ousmane Cisse | Antonis Fotsis | Ken Johnson | Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje | Alton Ford | Andre Huston | Jarron Collins | Kenny Satterfield | Maurice Jeffers | Robertas Javtokas | Alvin Jones | Bryan Bracey
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