Washington Wizards: 15 greatest scorers of all-time

Yes, he is the guy who thought it was a good idea to bring guns to a basketball arena! Yes, he has said some problematic things about black women. But when he was healthy and in his prime, Gilbert Arenas was more than a handful to deal with on offense.

Who could forget the game against the Lakers where Arenas dropped a franchise record 60 points on Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers? Or when he did this to the Utah Jazz? Or his general brilliance on the offensive end or his cavalcade of buzzer beaters? This was a man who seemed destined for superstardom.

With a 27.7 scoring average between 2004-2007 — a span where he made three All-Star appearances — pegging Arenas as one of the game’s top point guards wasn’t an unreasonable notion.

Sure, he was fairly inefficient (he shot 43.2 percent from the field during that span). And yes, the team only made it out of the first round of the playoffs once with Arenas as “the guy”. But with “Agent Zero” at the helm, Washington looked like a feisty, perennial playoff team.

Then, the knee injuries happened. Later came the gun incident with Javaris Crittenton. One trade to the Orlando Magic later and the Arenas era in D.C. was over just as quickly as it began.

Even taking into account the precipitous fall, watching peak Arenas was a treat for Washington fans that had little else to cheer for in previous years. His 25.0 points per game as a Wizard ranks him second on the franchise’s all-time list. Arenas’ place as one of the franchise’s best scorers is secure.