Gilbert Arenas

At 42 years old, Gilbert Arenas has this physical status:

Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (born January 6, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player.

Arenas attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, and accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Arizona late in his junior year.

He entered the 2001 NBA draft and was selected in the second round (31st pick) by the Golden State Warriors. Arenas is a three-time NBA All-Star, three-time member of the All-NBA Teams, and was voted the NBA Most Improved Player in the 2002–03 season.

Arenas was most often nicknamed "Agent Zero", due to his former jersey number and his late-game shot-making ability, but has increasingly been referred to as "Hibachi", a nod to the small Japanese barbequing device, which literally translates to "bowl of fire." Both names quickly became fan favorites during his time in the Washington, D.C.area.

He has also been nicknamed "Gibby."Arenas was suspended for most of the 2009–10 season because of handgun violations stemming from an episode on December 24, 2009, and for subsequent actions that appeared to make light of this episode. In late 2010, Arenas was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Orlando Magic.

After the 2011 NBA lockout, Arenas was waived by the Magic as the first victim of the "amnesty clause." He signed with the Memphis Grizzlies for a part of the 2011–12 NBA season.

Later in 2012, he joined the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, before retiring.

Early life

Arenas was born in Tampa, Florida. Arenas was raised in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles where he played basketball at Ulysses S. Grant High School. His #25 was retired by the school.

Personal life

Arenas has four children with Laura Govan, whom he dated from 2002 until 2014. Arenas met Govan while he was playing for the Warriors. Govan worked with the Sacramento Kings' public relations department.

One of Arenas' cousins is Javier Arenas, a professional football player who played for the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Another cousin, Armando Murillo, has played in the Canadian Football League.

Arenas is a friend of rapper The Game and was listed in the booklet for The Game's second album Doctor's Advocate. He collects a synthetic basketball from each team played, as well as players' jerseys, of which he has more than 400, most of which are autographed. He supported PETA's anti-fur mission by posing shirtless for their "Ink, Not Mink" campaign.

Arenas donated $100 for every point he scored in each home game during the 2006–07 season to local D.C.-area schools, while Wizards team owner Abe Pollin matched that contribution for each away game. He has also mentored a D.C. boy who lost his family in a fire at age 10. Arenas got him a job as a ball boy for the Wizards.

Arenas has had his own shoe, the Adidas Gil Zero, as well as his own line of Adidas TS Lightswitch shoes. Arenas wears size 141⁄2 shoes. Following the gun incident in 2009, Adidas dropped their sponsorship of Arenas. Instead of signing another endorsement deal, he turned to his vast collection of shoes. For nearly every game of the season, Arenas wore a different pair of shoes, wearing a total of 77 different pairs.

Arenas admitted that he ran about 60 red lights in 4 months and got away with it by keeping his dealer plates on his vehicle.

On June 27, 2013, Arenas was arrested by the LAPD for the possession of illegal fireworks.

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College career

Arenas played basketball at the University of Arizona. Richard Jefferson, one of his teammates, will later join him in the 2001 NBA draft. He was named first-team All-Pac-10 in 2001, Arenas' sophomore year. He was instrumental in Arizona's national championship game, where they lost to the Blue Devils 82–72. Arenas revealed that he was foregoing his two years in college and would enter the 2001 NBA draft shortly after the tournament.

Professional career

Arenas debuted in the 2001 NBA draft after a fruitful college career. Despite strong interest from many clubs in the first round, Arenas fell to the second round, being selected with the 31st overall pick by the Golden State Warriors. The number 0 on his jersey would represent the minutes that experts predicted he would play from a small high school to a college powerhouse in Arizona. For the Warriors, who finished in last place in the Western Conference this season, the Arenas started 30 games and averaged 10.9 points per game. Arenas earned the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2002-03, his sophomore season, and was named Most Valuable Player of the Rookie-Sophomore Game during the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Arenas became a restricted free agent after the 2002-2003 season. Several clubs trying to sign him, including the Wizards, Warriors, and the Los Angeles Clippers, allegedly flipped a coin to see which team wanted to sign him. He was given a six-year, $60 million contract by the Washington Wizards. The Warriors were unable to compete due to a lack of funds and because Arenas was a second-round pick. If Arenas had been selected in the first round, the salary cap would have included exceptions that would have allowed the Warriors to match the offer sheet. Later, the "Gilbert Arenas Rule" was introduced to encourage teams to re-sign restricted free agents who were not first-round picks. Throughout the season, the arenas suffered from a strained abdominal muscle injury.

In 2004, the Wizards acquired the highest-scoring backcourt duo in the NBA thanks to shooting guard Larry Hughes (22.0 points per game). Arenas was chosen for his first NBA All-Star Game. He coached the team to a 45-win season and its first playoff appearance since 1997. With 25.5 ppg, the team led the way in scoring, finishing seventh in the league in that group. In 2004,-05, he came in sixth in the league in steals per game (Hughes led the way in the league with 2.93 steals per game).

Arenas lost in the fifth game of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2005 as time expired to give the Wizards a 112–110 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Wizards then won the series, the first playoff series win in more than two decades.

In 2006, Wizards fansite Wizznutz.com jokingly referred to him as "Agent Zero," a term Arenas adored so much that it stuck.

During the 2005–06 NBA season, Arenas averaged 29.3 points, ranked fourth among the scoring leaders, two robbery (also fourth), and 6.1 assists per game. However, he was not initially selected for the 2006 All-Star Game. After Indiana Pacers forward-center Jermaine O'Neal was hospitalized, he was named as a replacement. He also competed in the Three-point Shootout, where he came in second place after Dirk Nowitzki. The Washington Wizards defeated the Cleveland Browns 42-39 for their fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, earning their fifth seed.

Arenas said during the off-season that he was willing to take a pay cut in order to offer the Wizards additional funds with which to sign available free agents. He had expressed a desire to win a championship with the Wizards. In Round 1 of the 2006 NBA playoffs, the Wizards were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games, one of Arenas' most memorable performances was a 40-foot jump shot.

Arenas has confirmed that he dropped out of the 2006 FIBA World Championship because he believed assistant coaches Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan had determined the roster even before tryouts. He later revealed that he planned on averaging 50 points against their respective clubs (Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers). In a high-scoring 144–139 Wizards victory over the Suns, he met his target against powerhouse Phoenix, scoring 54 points, including 21-of-37 from the field, 6-of-12 three-pointers (while still looking in the direction of Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo). In a 94–73 loss to Portland, however, he was held to a lowly nine points, including tying the Wizards' franchise record for three-point futility and going 1-for-8 from behind the arc.

Arenas scored a career-high 60 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 17, 2006, while assisting the Wizards in their overtime game against the Lakers, 147-141. Arenas holds the Wizards' franchise record for points scored in a game by an individual, which he now shares with Bradley Beal. Earl Monroe had the previous record of 56 points, which was also a overtime game against the Lakers in 1968. In addition, the Arenas' 16 points in the extra period set a new NBA record for the most points in a single overtime cycle, beating Earl Boykins' record by a single point.

Arenas beat the Milwaukee Bucks 108-108 on January 3, 2007. In a thrilling thriller at the Verizon Center two weeks later, Martin Luther King Jr. scored another buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat the Utah Jazz, 114-111. In the video game NBA Live 2008, the same scenario has been included as a cut scene. He also scored a game-winning layup as time expired to defeat the Seattle SuperSonics on March 21, 2007.

Arenas was named as the first-time starter for the 2007 NBA All-Star game in the Eastern Conference in February 2007, edging Vince Carter by a slim margin over 1,454,166 votes to Carter's 1,451,156. He was averaging 29.7 points per game, led all Eastern Conference point guards in scoring and finished second in the league at second place.

Arenas tore his MCL against the Charlotte Bobcats on September 16, when Gerald Wallace fell into his leg during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. With Arenas and teammate Caron Butler both injured, the Wizards struggled to finish the season. Washington received a playoff spot, but was eliminated in the first round of a rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Arenas told The Washington Post that he will "opt out" of his contract after the 2007–08 season, making him a free agent. "If something happens where they don't want me or they're going in a different direction, I'll look elsewhere." "My intentions are not to leave," says the author.

Arenas only played eight games during the 2007–08 season due to a knee injury before starting to practice again in March and defeating the Milwaukee Bucks on April 2, 2008.

Arenas erupted ten days before a game against the Detroit Pistons. He wanted to play, but his doctor refused to allow him permission. Arenas made a surprise appearance on April 9, when he came out of the locker room with 5:30 remaining in the first quarter. In assisting the Wizards defeat the Boston Celtics 109-95, he finished the game scoring 13 points and leaving three assists. He was ruled off the bench for the remainder of the regular season so as not to disturb the Wizards' chemistry without him. For the third year in a row, the Arenas got their wish; however, it was evident that he wasn't 100% healthy. He had limited minutes in games 1–3, citing soreness in his surgically repaired knee. Arenas announced he would miss the remainder of the playoffs just a few minutes before game 4 of their first-round playoff appearance against the Cavaliers.

Arenas officially dropped out of the final year of his deal on June 9, 2008, but the Wizards confirmed that if they kept teammate Antawn Jamison, also a free agent, he would re-sign with the Wizards. Jamison did indeed agree to a deal. The Golden State Warriors and another max contract with the Wizards had Arenas for more than $100 million, which was a six-year contract worth $124 million.

Arenas agreed to a six-year deal with the Wizards on July 13, 2008.

In a 98-96 loss to the Detroit Pistons due to the lingering injuries from April 2007, Arenas will not make his season debut until March 28, 2009, scoring 15 points and dishing 10 assists.

On April 2, he played his second and final game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the number one seed, in which both teams wore their respective throwback jerseys. In a win, Arenas dished out ten assists and 11 points, and fans were delighted to see Arenas, Brendan Haywood, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler reuniting for the first time in the season. However, the Wizards failed to win 19–63, the second-worst record in the NBA, tied with the Los Angeles Clippers, bringing an end to the Wizards' four-years of consecutive playoff appearances.

The Wizards defeated the Dallas Mavericks 102-91 in their season opener, and Arenas began the 2009–10 season on a hopeful note, scoring 29 points. However, Arenas' results will be patchy in the weeks ahead; on November 11, he tied a Wizards team record for turnovers in a game with 12. Arenas scored his first triple-double in five-and-a-half years in a loss to the Pacers on December 12. In a Wizards win over his former team, the Golden State Warriors, six days later, Arenas scored a season-best 45 points.

Arenas had admitted to carrying unloaded weapons in his locker at Capital One Arena and had surrendered them to team security, according to a tweeter on December 24, 2009. Arenas not only broke NBA rules against handguns in a stadium, but they also broke D.C. laws as a result. During a Christmas Eve debate about gambling debts, Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton had unloaded weapons in the Wizards' locker room, according to the team's president. Arenas was charged with carrying a pistol without a license in Washington, D.C., a felony. Arenas pleaded guilty on January 15 to the charge of carrying an unlicensed pistol outside a house or business.

On January 6, 2010, Arenas' 28th birthday, the NBA suspended him indefinitely without compensation until the probe was complete. The league was almost forced to act when Arenas' teammates surrounded him during pregame introductions prior to a game with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he tried to shoot them with guns made from their fingers. NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a tweet that Arenas' behavior since the probe began "has led me to the conclusion that he is not physically fit to face the judge in a NBA game." Arenas is likely to face a lengthy suspension, according to the former president. The Wizards released a statement shaming the players' pregame stunt as "unacceptable." After talking with Stern on January 27, 2010, Arenas and Crittenton were suspended for the remainder of the season. Arenas published an open editorial in The Washington Post on February 2, 2010, in which he apologized for his inability to be a better role model for young viewers and for "making fun of a serious situation." Arenas was found guilty of his crimes on March 26, 2010, and he was sentenced to two years of probation and 30 days in a halfway house. Arenas' sentence was launched in the halfway house on April 9. On May 7, he was released. Arenas' probation was significantly tougher than Crittenton, who received a year of unsupervised probation, or Delonte West, who had been riding around in a three-wheeled motorcycle in Prince George's County with several loaded firearms, including a shotgun in a violin case. West received eight months of home detention, two months of unsupervised probation, and forty hours of community service for his crimes.

Arenas changed his number from 0 to 9, claiming he was trying to recreate the entire incident from the previous season. (Arenas had worn #0 from college to his time in the NBA as a regular reminder of the number of minutes his opponents predicted would play in the NBA.)

Although Arenas led the Wizards in terms of 17.3 points per game, they finished with a poor 6–18 record in the first 24 games of the season.

Arenas was traded to the Orlando Magic for Rashard Lewis on December 18, 2010. In honor of his favorite player, Penny Hardaway, the Arenas decided to wear #1 on his jersey. With Jameer Nelson as the starting point, he was the back-up point guard. The Magicians won the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and advanced to the playoffs after 52-31. However, Orlando lost in six games to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.

Arenas were waived by the Orlando Magic under the amnesty rule after the 2011 NBA lockout, becoming the first player to be waived under the newly introduced program at the time of its inclusion. He received waivers and became a free agent. The 2011–12 NBA season was reduced from 82 games to 66 games due to the 2011 NBA lockout.

In the summer of 2011, Arenas joined former Wizards teammate Etan Thomas in a monumental performance of Our Town by Thornton Wilder.

The Memphis Grizzlies signed Arenas on March 20, 2012. Mike Conley Jr., Jr., was his primary job, this time as a back-up point guard. The Grizzlies won the Western Conference by 41-25 points and clinched their fourth seed. However, the Los Angeles Clippers lost in the first round of the Los Angeles Clippers in a complete seven-game series. In Game 7 of the 2012 Western Conference First Round, Arenas' last NBA game was played on May 13, 2012. Memphis will miss Game 772 (thus losing the series) to the Los Angeles Clippers, with Arenas only playing for 3 minutes and recording no statistics.

Arenas signed with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association on November 19, 2012. Arenas averaged 20.7 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game in 27.3 minutes per game in his first season in the CBA. He participated in 14 games and started 8 of them. However, the Sharks failed to win the playoffs after finishing 10–22.

Broadcasting career

On Complex News' YouTube channel, Arenas hosted a daily sports show. The No Chill Podcast is also available on his own website, "No Chill Productions."

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Awards and honors

• 3× NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007
• 3× All-NBA: