When Gilbert Arenas Joined Washington… Playing Heads or Tails!
True superstar since the 2000s, Gilbert Arenas today he celebrates (just) his 44th birthday. Retired from the NBA court for more than ten years, “Agent Zero” experienced a period of dominance, as fleeting as it was intense, between injuries etc bloodshed. The fact remains that the career of this terrible arsonist is full of anecdotes, each more delicious than the last.
Like the one about his signature in Washington, which is almost an urban legend.
It’s the summer of 2003. Having just been voted the Warriors’ “Most Improved Player” even though he was only a “sophomore” (like Kevin Johnson in 1989 and Monta Ellis in 2007), Gilbert Arenas has the ability to sign anywhere he wants, given his 310 Draft status.
Obviously, at the end of the 2002/03 season in which he averaged 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals, 43% on shots, 35% on threes and 79% on free throws, there is no shortage of competitors and, in addition to the leading ace, there are two leaders. Clippers and the Wizards. Or teams that are coming off a weak season and frankly aren’t historically known for their collective success.
Nervous, Gilbert Arenas struggled to sleep days before signing his first big contract. That he would not initial whatever happened with Golden State, since the Bay franchise was quickly rejected by the player, due to an offer that did not meet his expectations and heated negotiations.
Only the proposals of Los Angeles and Washington remained on the table.
Ten throws to the destination
Present in California, at the house of his agent, after spending the night playing on the console, the heart of “Agent Zero” is uncertain. Messy hair and bushy beard doesn’t know which team to turn to. Suddenly an idea comes to his mind: decide “heads or tails”! Heads to the Wizards, tails to the Clippers. And, after ten throws, his decision would be made…but not in the way he intended.
Because, out of these ten tosses, the coin landed eight times on the head side and only twice on the tail side. Only Gilbert Arenas chose Washington (heads) rather than Los Angeles (heads)!
« I always go against the odds. So when the Clippers were down eight times, I told myself I was going to go in the opposite direction, against (those scores) », he justified himself theninking a six-year lease worth $64 million in the US capital. And this, despite his problems with the justice system in San Francisco, over (already) the issue of firearms.
An anecdote that in any case fits perfectly with our idea of Gilbert Arenas, who would become a three-time All-Star under the colors of the Wizards. A fantastic figure in the 2000s, never short of efforts to improve, much less flashy statements, he brilliantly knew how to take over from Michael Jordan in Washington, to finally return the franchise to the playoffs, two years after his arrival.
2026-01-06 14:56:00
