Arenas the Anomaly: A Breath of Fresh Air?

Crazy? Debatable.
Different? Most definitely.
Selfish? Some would say so.
Good for the game? Well...

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is known as much for his off-court antics as his offensive aptitude on the hardwood. For every one of his 40+ point games, there is a news story which details his quirkiness. Gilbert Scores 54, Admits to Trading Signed Shoes for a Box of All-Star Ballots. Gilbert Drops 60 on Kobe. Hibachi! It is at the point where some fans feel that "Agent Zero" is turning into a sideshow act, and that he needs to shut up and play.

Granted, every innovator will have his or her doubters. In that respect, Gilbert is no different. When news broke that he was playing poker on his laptop during halftimes of games, there was speculation that he did not have a great rapport with his coaches, so rather than listen to them, he would gamble (Gilbert maintains that he only played during downtime after the coaches finished speaking). After claiming that he would drop 50 points per game on the Suns and Blazers, it seemed to some that he did not care about winning; that he only set these personal goals to satiate his ego. Yet, the Washington Wizards, of whom Arenas is the unquestioned leader, currently find themselves sitting pretty atop their division.

Arenas is not in it for himself. Ask him about his teammates. He can not say enough about the evolution of starting small forward Caron Butler. And if you ask Caron what is responsible for his improvement, he will tell you that he owes a lot of his success to Gilbert Arenas. On Tuesday Night With Ahmad, the all-star explained, "Being a teammate of Gilbert Arenas, watching his work ethic, just following him in the gym and doing all the extra things..." have helped him. Wizards Center Brendan Haywood also feels that Gilbert is doing his job as the leader of the team. Obviously, Gilbert gets the approval of those who matter most -- his teammates.

It is refreshing to see such a high profile NBA player who makes an effort to connect with the fans. He is the only superstar who has his own blog, which actually is very entertaining to read, is updated frequently, and gives a lot of insight into the NBA, the Wizards, and "Gilbertology." After every game, home and away, he throws his jersey into the crowd. At the 2007 All-Star game in Las Vegas, in which he is a starter for the East, he plans on tossing 100 jerseys with "Agent Zero" embroidered on the back to the fans. He even plans on wearing one during the game, risking a fine from the League. "It's worth getting fined for," he explained, "because all those people who got the Agent Zero jerseys are going to feel special." It is as if, one day, Arenas asked himself "What would I have liked my favorite players to do for me?" and decided to do everything he thought of for his fans.

Arenas, with his fun-loving attitude is great for the NBA. The guy is an entertainer in the truest sense of the word. And, when it comes down to it, the NBA is in the business of entertaining. He is a rarity in that he is just as entertaining off the court as he is while he is tormenting opponents on it. He is not afraid to show us who he really is - a competitive, hardworking, outgoing, good-natured serial prankster. So when he says that he can boss his teammates around now that he is a starter on the All-Star team, don't take him too seriously; he doesn't.

Here is a video, provided by the Wizards, who are doing a great job of supplying the public with Gilbert's at it Again! stories. The video is of a shooting contest between Arenas and teammate Deshawn Stevenson. Arenas is shooting college 3-pointers with 1 hand, and Deshawn is shooting NBA three pointers. The contest was rumored to have $20,000 riding on it... make sure to watch it until the end.




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Other News:
If you didn't already know, Andrea Bargnani is going to be a very good player in the League. His feathery shooting touch and ability to put the ball on the floor aren't the only reasons why. They say "it isn't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog" that matters. Well at 7', 240 lbs, Bargnani boasts a competitiveness and mean streak that you do not often see among international players, as Commissioner Stern calls them, or rookies, let alone international rookies.
Being drafted #1 overall means that you are expected to become a star. Bargnani should not disappoint.

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After Charles Barkley claimed, "I could outrun [veteran NBA official] Dick Bavetta right now!" it was on. There was no middle ground; either you were with Dick or you were with Charles. Commish Stern said, "I am not worried about Bavetta, but I will not be responsible for Charles, and his increasingly limited physical capacity." Shaq, a member of Team Chuck, explains, "I'm a big guy, Charles is a big guy, I'm sticking with Charles... Ain't no way Dick's gonna beat Charles." Reportedly, this All-Star Weekend, it is going down. Click here to see the trailer.