What Happened to Gilbert Arenas?

Gilbert Arenas was an NBA player who made a remarkable stint as a point guard for the Washington Wizards. However, his career took a significant turn in 2009 because of a controversial incident. What happened to Gilbert Arenas?

Arenas was found to have brought guns into the locker room, severe enough to earn him criminal charges and NBA suspension. Later on, he pleaded guilty to carrying an unlicensed firearm. He was sentenced to probation and community service.

After the incident, he struggled to bring back his glorious NBA placement. Check out the complete details of the story in this blog.

Overview of Gilbert Arenas NBA Career

Before talking about Gilbert Arenas’ downfall, it is necessary to talk about his majestic stint before the unfortunate turn of events. Arenas made headlines because of his exceptional skills as a point guard.

Gilbert Arenas’ position was a point guard. He made a sceneful entrance when picked by the Golden States Warriors in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft. After that, he became a crucial player in every team he joined. Check out the bulleted list below for the rest of his NBA career.

• Golden States Warriors (2001-2003)

Gilbert Arenas debuted in the NBA in 2001 with the Golden States Warriors and quickly became a key player. In his rookie year or 30 games, he averaged 10.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

The following season, his record skyrocketed and rose to a fair share of fame. In 82 games, Gilbert Arenas earned an average of 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. This record attracted the recruiter of the Washington Wizards, who offered him a six-year contract.

• Washington Wizards (2003-2010)

After accepting the $60 million offer from the Washing Wizards, Gilbert Arenas started to build up his elite status. Gilbert Arenas’ contract made his most successful career with the team as their key point guard.

In his first season, he averaged 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, earning him the Most Improved Player award in 2003. He made the right choice of moving to the Wizards.

He continued this improvement streak in the following seasons, averaging 29.3 points per game. In fact, he gained his first All-NBA Second Team honors. 

Gilbert Arenas made career highs with the Wizards and even gained NBA All-Star Team thrice (2005, 2006, and 2007). He was already poised to reach the peak of his career, but a controversy broke out, and his fame died down.

In 2009, Gilbert Arenas was found with a gun in the locker room. This killed his hard-earned career.

• Orlando Magic (2010-2011)

At the height of the controversy, he transferred to the Orlando Magic, hoping to scale his career. However, his performance declined; he only averaged 8.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.

• Memphis Grizzlies (2011-2012)

Since his performance was underwhelming, so he was traded to the Grizzlies. Similarly, he hit a career slump and only averaged 4.2 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.

Gilbert Arenas’ stats throughout his career were averaging 20.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Hence, he announced his retirement in 2013. He ended his career on a grand note, at least.

Why is Gilbert Arenas out of the NBA?

Gilbert Arenas was out of the NBA court due to various reasons, including his declining performance on the NBA courts. However, this unfortunate turn of events happened due to an issue that happened in 2009 that involved him illegally possessing firearms in the locker room.

In his final years in the NBA, he struggled to pick up his momentum after the incident. His career stats dropped drastically, which is apparent in the eyes of NBA fans. He was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and only appeared in 17 games, with an average of 4.2 points per game.

Additionally, his off-court reputation took a massive toll on his NBA career. In 2009, Gilbert Arenas was found guilty of bringing an unlicensed firearm into their locker room in a dispute against his teammate. 

This issue led to his suspension for the rest of the season. Also, he faced criminal charges and community service for his criminal offense. Nonetheless, it would be unfair to credit his retirement due to this incident alone.

Overall, Gilbert Arenas retired due to a combination of reasons. One of them is his evident performance decline. Also, the issue probably made a significant turn in his NBA career.

What Really Happened to Gilbert Arenas?

The fall of the glorious career of Gilbert Arenas was never about the 2009 locker room incident where he pulled a gun on his teammate. If you followed his career closely, you would know that the turning point was April 4, 2007.

At the time, he played for the Wizards against the Charlotte Bobcats. The center, Gerald Wallace, missed his chance to do a layup in traffic and fell. Unfortunately, he landed on Gilbert Arenas’ knee.

This incident caused Arenas an injury. Although it did not seem daunting, everyone knew he would never be the same again. After a few whiles, he was caught up in an incident for pulling a gun on his teammate in 2009. He dared his teammate, Javaris Crittenton, to shoot him.

After these two critical points in his career, Gilbert Arenas slowly faded into the background. His elite status then faded, and he would only play for a few games a season. Hence, he announced his retirement in 2013.

Years later, he spoke about his NBA stint in a YouTube show. In it, he revealed everything about what transpired in his NBA career—-including the infamous incident.

Gilbert Arenas Life After Basketball

After his NBA retirement, everyone is dying to know about Gilbert Arenas’ update. The good thing is that Gilbert is returning to the spotlight after participating in several endeavors.

The first milestone he had was his project with a YouTube channel Ciomplex. Gilbert Arenas’ podcast was named the “Out Of Bounds.” He also has his podcast called “No Chill.” 

Gilbert put up his production team with his success in the YouTube scene. In 2009, Gilbert made his production team called “No Chill Productions.” So far, he is living his best life outside the NBA court!

Although his NBA dream turned into a nightmare in 2009, he managed to save his reputation by venturing into the broadcasting industry. With his current update on his life outside of the NBA, he is inevitably going back on the right track.

Wrapping Things Up: What Happened to Gilbert Arenas?

Gilbert Arenas was poised to become an NBA star in his influential stint with the Washington Wizards. He was known for his scoring abilities, significantly beyond the three-point arc. However, all his hard-earned fame faded due to an incident in 2009. What happened to Gilbert Arenas?

Gilbert Arenas was found to have possessed an illegal firearm in their locker in 2009. Hence, he was then suspended for the rest of the season. After that, his performance notably went downhill. Due to a mix of performance decline and off-court reputation, he decided to retire in 2013.

Check out different sources to know more about this issue. And, of course, watch this video explaining the whole situation. 

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