How Agent Zero Saved Dc

sports And enjoying every minute of it, which in today’s How agent Zero image-driven sports world is also, sadly, somewhat strange. “nba players are so scared of being viewed in a certain way that they can’t be who they want to Saved d.C. be,” Arenas says. “They put on a mask.” Arenas takes it The intense motivations and wacky philosophy off—just for fun. During the home opener this season, of the NBA’s least conventional superstar he wore a satin boxing robe for pregame introduc- tions. He reaches out to struggling kids on MySpace By SEAN GREGORY / WASHINGTON and has sponsored a video-game team. Gilbertology offers many unusual tenets, among ilbert arenas, wonder guard of the them: 1) Thin the air in your house with a special Washington Wizards, goes by a superhero air conditioner to mimic living at a high altitude, so nickname, Agent Zero, as in the number on that when you’re at low altitude—say, on a basketball Ghis uniform. Here’s a more appropriate label: court in Washington—you can breathe easily. 2) Hold Agent Weirdo. Why? This is a guy who at halftime extra practice sessions at midnight. 3) Pull pranks of one game took a shower—fully uni- on fellow players and dare them to formed—to cool down. His quirky In Washington, only retaliate. (During a road trip, Arenas habits are many and, Arenas admits, the pentagon has a filled teammate Andray Blatche’s hotel “pointless,” including watching bad bathtub with coffee.) And 4) dream of a dvds, wearing vintage jerseys, and his longer-range arsenal post-playing career in advertising. latest, collecting crappy basketballs. than arenas does. Although Arenas played high Arenas is amassing the synthetic balls school ball in Los Angeles, backyard the nba unveiled and dumped this season after players power ucla didn’t recruit him. So he dashed to the complained about cutting their fingers on them. desert—the University of Arizona—where he took But despite these quirks, residents of Washington, the number 0—in his mind, the number of minutes D.C., can cheer for a team with playoff potential and his doubters thought he would play as a freshman. an mvp-caliber player in the prime of his career. Led After helping the Wildcats reach the ncaa champi- by Arenas, the nba’s second leading scorer (at 29.4 onship game in 2001, Arenas watched every team points per game) and least conventional superstar, bypass him in the first round of the nba draft. He the Wizards had the second best record in the admit- cried. Says an amazed Dallas Mavericks general tedly woeful Eastern Conference as of February. In manager Donnie Nelson—whose team didn’t have Washington, only the Pentagon has a longer-range a first-round pick—“The teams in this league said arsenal than Arenas does. And Arenas may be more no to Gilbert Arenas.” accurate. He has scored more than 50 points three But things had changed by the time the 2007 nba times this season, including a 60-point outing against All-Star Game came around. Arenas finally made the the Lakers in Los Angeles. He also hit two game- starting five, and it was a chance for him to win over a winning three-pointers at the buzzer and made dozens global audience. Not surprisingly, his mind was firing of acrobatic shots. The ability to hit long bombs or from long range. “I’m trying to get two blimps,” he flash to the basket makes Arenas a nightmare to cover. said before the game. “They’d just fly around the city “He’s storybook,” says former nba guard and current and say, agent zero has arrived.” Let’s hope he’s tnt broadcaster Kenny Smith, of Arenas. just getting started. π To reach an élite level, Arenas has fought through personal and professional rejections, including his Questions exclusion from the Team U.S.A. roster that played (below 1. Why did Gilbert Arenas choose the number 0 as expectations) in the World Championship last summer. a college basketball player? It’s an omission that baffles Smith: “He’s doing things 2. What are some examples of Arenas’ quirky philo- only the greatest players in the league have done.” sophy on and off the court? time, february 19, 2007 29.

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