Welcome to LWOS Basketball department “NBA Time Traveler Series,” the column that imagines which retired player from an NBA franchise one would most want to travel back in time to see them play again in their prime. The LWOS Basketball department will review each of the 30 NBA franchises and which retired player would be their “NBA Time Traveler Player.”
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Time Travel to See Gilbert Arenas Play for the Washington Wizards Again
Gilbert Arenas had a very successful NBA career. So successful, in fact, that he made over $20 million from his last NBA contract in the 2013-14 season…even though he hasn’t played a single game since the 2011-12 season, and his last productive season came in 2010-11. To be absolutely clear: Gilbert Arenas made over $20 million for doing no work at all one year. That is the American Dream.
In all seriousness, a better word than “successful” to describe Gilbert’s career would be “controversial” or “polarizing”. Because that’s exactly what Arenas’ career is for fans – either you love him for what his game was, or you can’t stand him because of his mistakes and antics off the court. Let’s dive into both sides of the story.
Arenas started out on the Golden State Warriors as a second round pick. Although most second round picks don’t even sign a second contract, Arenas was able to impress many people around the league in his first two seasons in Golden State, averaging over 18 points and 6 assists in the 2002-03 season. This earned him a 6 year deal worth $60 million to play for the Wizards, starting the following season.
Arenas peaked as a player from 2005 to 2007, in which he made three consecutive All-Star teams and averaged over 25 points per game in each of those seasons. However, everything went downhill from there for the Wizards point guard. Arenas struggled with injuries for the rest of his career after re-signing with Washington for $111 million over six years in July 2008. But what’s worse than that is the other reason why Arenas flamed out in the NBA. In December 2009, Arenas got into an argument about money (owed from gambling) with then-Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton. The fight escalated to the point where Arenas threatened Crittenton with guns, which he illegally owned and stored in the Wizards locker room. When this was revealed, Arenas was investigated, charged, and suspended indefinitely from the NBA. To make matters worse, Arenas taunted NBA commissioner David Stern by doing a dance in which he pointed finger guns in the air in pregame warmups (it was no coincidence). Between the infamous gun incident and his injuries, Arenas’ career went into a tailspin, until he eventually retired from the NBA – at only age 30 – after playing just 17 subpar games for the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2011-12 season (Arenas ended up in Memphis after being traded to Orlando and waived via the amnesty provision).
Although everything about the end of Arenas’ career sounds terrible, which it was, Arenas’ prime years in Washington were special, and truly cannot be replicated. From the time that Arenas signed in Washington in the summer of 2003, until Arenas tore his MCL late in the 2006-07 season, Arenas was a fascinating player to watch. While Allen Iverson is the icon for the cool modern NBA, with the swagger he brought to the court, Arenas brought some swagger of his own. Iverson made tattoos, arm sleeves, cornrows, and flashy crossovers popular in the NBA. Despite the fact that he never influenced many other players and young kids the way Iverson did, Arenas was still cool in a different way, with his own unique style. Arenas was famous for his prowess at scoring game winning shots at the buzzer, but beyond that, he would even call his own shots. By that, I mean that Arenas would literally turn around and throw his hands up for the crowd to go crazy as his shot swished through the net without him even seeing, or needing to see it. As L.A. Lakers fans know, that kind of cool arrogance doesn’t work for just any player (cough, Nick Young, cough). Arenas also had a great nickname, “Agent Zero”, which wasn’t quite Iverson’s “The Answer” but was definitely comparable. Arenas was no Iverson, but he could shake defenders with fancy crossovers once in a while. As a score-first point guard, Arenas was also a pretty good three point shooter. He wasn’t great in terms of percentage, but Arenas had range. At any time, Gilbert could just rise up and pull for three from nearly 40 feet. He didn’t have the accuracy that Steph Curry has today, but not many players would even have the guts to take the shots that Arenas took, and even fewer would have the skill to make a decent amount of those shots. This particular ability just added to the swagger that Arenas brought to the game. Arenas would even take such long shots in key moments of big games, which would rarely be questioned, because Agent Zero almost always came through when it mattered most.
The Wizards didn’t have much postseason success during Gilbert’s tenure, but it wasn’t due to Arenas’ lack of trying. It took heroics from LeBron James and several untimely injuries to take down the Wizards during Arenas’ best years, although Arenas did have several memorable playoff moments, including this terrific game winner.
Perhaps Gilbert Arenas will leave the legacy of what could have been – a potential Hall of Fame career that was cut short by guns, injuries, and an ill-advised fight with a teammate. But for many of us, Arenas will leave another legacy – he’ll always be Agent Zero.
