15 players you forgot played for the Golden State Warriors
1. Gilbert Arenas (2001-03)
Before he was Agent Zero, a multiple-time All-Star and one of the league’s most potent scorers, Gilbert Arenas was just like any other second-round pick trying to make an NBA career.
The Golden State Warriors had drafted the former Arizona Wildcat 31st overall back in 2001, but it’s hard to imagine the franchise truly knew what they had. Few teams with diamonds in the rough ever do until it’s clear as day.
Arenas made his mark early, averaging 10.9 points, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals in just 24.6 nightly minutes in just 47 appearances.
By Year No. 2, he was starting all 82 games and taking home Most Improved honors with averages of 18.3 points, 6.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
When Gilbert Arenas was a rookie with the @warriors, he'd just gotten a condo in Alameda. He told me that he wanted to get a 250-gallon shark tank. In a condo.
— Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) November 8, 2019
Otis Smith took him to an aquarium to talk to a shark trainer, who explained why that might be a bad idea. pic.twitter.com/BlWotFzdc6
Unfortunately for Golden State, Arena’s contract only lasted those two seasons, after which he would enter restricted free agency.
Even with the ability to match any deal, the Warriors simply didn’t have the funds to compete with offers from the Clippers and Washington Wizards, the latter of which signed Arenas to a six-year, $65 million offer sheet, affording a platform for his future stardom to skyrocket.
Had Arenas remained in the Bay Area, who knows the levels of productivity he’d reach and what it would mean for a Golden State Warriors franchise in the ninth of what would be a 12-year playoff drought.
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