NBA: 30 greatest playmakers in NBA history

28. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards

With such a dark cloud hovering over the Washington Wizards, it helps to bring up the good times with point guard Gilbert Arenas. When Arenas was on the floor, Washington was at its best, although they never won a title with him.

As a volume scorer and distributor, Arenas showed off his abilities in a number of ways as a dynamic playmaker. He produced 25.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game in his eight seasons with the Wizards from 2003 to 2011. He shot 35.7 percent from 3-point land and 42.2 percent from the floor as a volume shooter with Washington.

During the 2005-06 season, he put up a career-high 29.3 points per game to go along with 6.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per contest. Arenas put up at least 400 assists from 2004 to 2007, a feat he accomplished as the team made three consecutive playoff appearances.

They didn’t make it very far in postseason play, but Arenas was a top playmaker for them nonetheless. On Dec. 17, 2006, in an overtime duel with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant in Staples Center, Arenas put up a career-high 60 points in a 147-141 victory.

Arenas managed to make it out of the first round once in the 2005 NBA Playoffs, but after that, he made four quick first-round exits. More playoff success could have elevated his legacy, but an off-the-court incident quickly derailed that.