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Sport:
Basketball
Position:
Point
Guard
Team:
Washington Wizards
Height:
6'4"
Weight:
210 lbs.
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Gilbert
Arenas was born on January 6, 1982 in Tampa,
Florida. His father played college football
at the University of Miami. In 1984, the pair
moved to Los Angeles, California where Gilbert's
father was an actor in commercials and soap
operas.
When
Gilbert was about 11, he started playing basketball
instead of football. By the time Gilbert was
14, he was already the best player on Ulysses
S. Grant High School in Van Nuys, California
(near Los Angeles). During his high school career,
Gilbert was named to the Los Angeles All-City
team three times. As a junior at Grant High
School, he averaged nearly 30 points per game.
By the time he was 16 years old, Gilbert has
already committed to play basketball at the
University of Arizona. His first choice, UCLA
(University of California at Los Angeles), had
passed on him. During his senior year, Gilbert
averaged 33.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.
Gilbert
immediately became a star point guard at Arizona.
He decided to wear the number "0"
because people told him he would get "zero
playing time".During his freshman year,
he scored 20 points in his first game against
UCLA. He finished his freshman year with an
average of 15.3 points per game. Arizona entered
the NCAA tournament as a number one seed, despite
the fact that many of their star players were
injured. After defeating Jackson State, Arizona
lost to Wisconsin 66-59. In 1997, during his
sophomore year, Gilbert led Arizona to a final
four appearance in the NCAA tournament against
Duke University. Duke ultimately prevailed 82-72.
After
his sophomore year, Gilbert decided to enter
the NBA draft. Many coaches thought that Gilbert
was not ready. As a result, he was drafted a
disappointing 31st overall by the Golden State
Warriors. Gilbert worked hard at Golden State,
despite the fact his coach kept him on the bench
for much of the season. When he finally got
his chance, Gilbert averaged 14 points and 5
assists per game as the Warriors point guard.
Although
the Warriors lost 44 games, Gilbert excelled
during his second year as point guard with the
Warriors. He averaged 18.3 points per game and
dished out 6.3 assists. He was named the NBA's
Most Improved Player, and also gained a reputation
for his strange behavior. Gilbert was said to
take fully-uniformed halftime showers because
he would get so frustrated with the Warriors
losing ways. He was also known for throwing
clipboards and chairs around the locker room.
Furthermore, Gilbert claims that he only sleeps
a few hours every night.
After
such a successful individual year for Gilbert,
it was time to test the NBA's free-agent market.
Much to the disappointment of Warriors fans,
Gilbert signed a 6-year, 65 million dollar deal
with the Washington Wizards in 2003. Not surprisingly,
he became an instant star with the Wizards.
Fans loved to watch him race up the court, dish-off
passes, and make difficult shots and lay ups.
Although the Wizards only won 27 games his first
year in Washington, Gilbert led them with 19.6
points per game. Gilbert, along with teammates
Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison, led the Wizards
to the NBA playoffs during his second year.
The highlight of the decade for the Wizards
was their post-season victory against the Chicago
Bulls in the NBA playoffs. During Gilbert's
2004-2005 year, he averaged 25.5 points per
game! In 2005-2006, Gilbert again led the Wizards
to the playoffs. He finished the year fourth
in the NBA in scoring with 29.3 points per game.
He also ranked fourth in the NBA in steals per
game and was elected to his second All-Star
Game.
Career
Statistics:
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