Gilbert Arenas, a guard for the Washington Wizards, is one of the team's best players - and unfortunately, injury prone. Although he played eight games in the 2007-08 season, he probably shouldn't have. His knee injury is serious, and although he had wanted to play in the playoffs, he had to dramatically cancel his appearance on the advice of his doctors and the team management. His sometimes eccentric player have endeared him to fans - as do his excellent scoring numbers.
It's easy to get the sense that Arenas has the potential to become a much better and more consistent player than he is now with guidance and focus. He holds the record for most overtime points in a game with 16 and for most points scored in 30 minutes after the creation of the shot clock. If he could play as well as he does in the clutch all the time, he'd be considered up there with Kobe Bryant. He's clearly an intelligent player, helping to dispel the sadly oft-true stereotype about basketball players being a bunch of meatheaded thugs.
He averages 22.8 points per game, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds, helped by his strong stamina - averaging 37.8 minutes per game. In his six years of pro play, he's brought up his averages consistently until his injury. Whatever happens to the Wizards this season, he'll likely be back and in playing form next year. It's hard to see the Wizards making it very far without his star power to help raise their spirits and numbers.
