Each NBA team’s most devastating injury in franchise history

Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Icon SMI/Corbis via Getty Images)

Most devastating injury in Washington Wizards history: Gilbert Arenas

When the Wizards signed Gilbert Arenas away from the Golden State Warriors in 2001, few people expected him to become the superstar guard that he did.

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But between 2004-05 and 2006-07, Arenas looked like one of the best score-first point guards in the league, averaging 27.7 points and 5.7 assists per game during that span.

His play alongside Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler turned the Wizards into a more respectable playoff team, albeit one that only made it out of the first round once.

But like most things associated with the Wizards, the high points didn’t last long. With the season almost over, Arenas tore his MCL in a game against the then-Charlotte Bobcats when swingman Gerald Wallace landed on his leg.

This forced “Agent Zero” to miss the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, where Washington was swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Arenas never recovered following that injury. He only averaged more than 20 points per game after the MCL tear and he only played in 70 games one more time after the injury.

So naturally, general manager Ernie Grunfeld believed that the best course of action was to give this man a six-year, $111 million contract extension in 2008. Needless to say, that the deal didn’t work out, as Arenas became known more for bringing a gun to the then-MCI Center to settle a dispute over gambling debts than his play on the hardwood.

Once the knee injuries rendered Arenas an oververpaid role player, the Wizards sunk to the bottom of the standings again. It kind of worked out though, as they used their ensuing lottery picks to select John Wall and Bradley Beal to restart the usual “make some playoff appearances before genuflecting to dysfunction” cycle that seems never-ending in the nation’s capital.