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Gilbert Arenas is definitely a character. Who else would play a poker computer game on their laptop during halftime of Washington Wizard's games? Who else would rather sit in their hotel ...

Gilbert Arenas Makes Surprise Return Against Milwaukee Bucks

by Alex Kennedy (Columnist)

21

1,824 reads

Breaking News

April 02, 2008


Gilbert Arenas is definitely a character.

Who else would play a poker computer game on their laptop during halftime of Washington Wizard's games?

Who else would rather sit in their hotel room and order products (such as colon cleansers) from infomercials instead of going out on the town with their teammates?

Who else would trade a pair of shoes and a jersey for a box of All-Star ballots in an attempt to vote themselves into the game?

Whether it's his hilarious quotes ("Welcome to the hibachi"), crazy blog entries (he once talked about a huge paintball fight he had at his house with teammates), or incredible talent, you have to love Gilbert Arenas.

He may be Washington's most consistent scorer but he's unpredictable in the sense that you never know what he's going to do next.

Arenas was at it again Wednesday night when he returned to action against the Milwaukee Bucks, despite reports that he wouldn't play. 

At the start of tonight's game, Agent Zero was nowhere to be found. Then, with 5:30 left in the first quarter, he strutted out of the locker room and made his way to the Wizard's bench, donning his #0 jersey.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation and he entered the game shortly thereafter. 

It didn't take Arenas very long to find his touch. He came out shooting and at halftime, he was leading the Wizards with 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting including two three pointers. He nailed his first four shots and his only miss came as the shot clock was ticking down and he fired up a long three pointer to beat the buzzer.

He finished the game with 17 points and 2 assists in just under 20 minutes of action.

In November, Gilbert injured his knee and underwent surgery that kept him out for a good portion of the season. He returned to practice in March and while doctors had cleared him to play in tonight's game, Arenas told media he would be sitting out.

Arenas is full of surprises, but one thing is for sure; His presence will definitely help Washington come playoff time.

Arenas has eight games to shake off some of his rust before the regular season ends and the Wizards look to become a dark horse in the postseason.

Right now, Washington holds the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and are a scary team with all of their key players are healthy. 

While Arenas caught many people off guard with his return tonight, the Wizard's biggest surprise could come with a healthy roster and an underdog label when the playoffs start in late April.

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21 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    Wasn't expecting him to return tonight. A pretty cool surprise, especially considering he's on my fantasy team, haha. He's playing really well too. It's a close one though, about 1:30 left in the 4th.

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  2. Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago

    What I'm curious about is, who all knew? Did his teammates know he'd be returning? I know he didn't tell the media because reports were saying he wouldn't play (Sporting News just recently updated their previous article) but who else was unaware of his return? I guess we'll find out tonight or tomorrow because I'm sure it will come out in his post game interview.

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  3. Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago

    The Wizards ended up losing the game 110-109. Arenas finished with 17 points and 2 assists in 19:47. He also had four turnovers but that's expected after such a long absence.

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  4. Sean Stancill about 1 year ago

    I didn't expect Gilbert to do that well. He'll come into that rusty spell just like Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O'Neal, and Pau Gasol have done this season. No one plays like brand new after missing any kind of time.

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  5. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    He played well for his first game back. Not bad for only playing 20 minutes and scoring 17 points with 2 assists.

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  6. rob caldwell about 1 year ago

    this is great. I guess he's been sandbagging in his blogs for the last couple of months, talking about not wanting to blow a "$100 million lottery ticket" by playing and getting hurt again. Good for Gil, this helps bring the east another step closer to having relevancy outside of Boston, Detroit, and Cleavland. It was needed.

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  7. Ralph isaac about 1 year ago

    for some reason in the last minute, Caron Butler deferred to gilbert Arenas... why would they go away from what's been working for them.

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  8. Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago

    I've been hearing that Arenas didn't participate in morning shoot around and when Gilbert dressed out prior to the game, it was news to Eddie Jordan and his teammates. Apparently he was ready to go and in uniform at tip off but waited in the locker room for awhile before coming out. I'm not sure why he would do this, maybe he was getting some last minute treatment or he just wanted a dramatic entrance. I guess we won't know until we hear from Arenas.

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    • Dave Finocchio about 1 year ago

      The smart money would be on dramatic entrance, no?

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    • Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago

      Haha, definitely. This is the same guy who wore a blue robe and hood to look like a boxer (he claimed it was a Wizard) during the intros for the first game of the season a couple years back. I'm surprised Gilbert didn't come out on a jet pack to be honest.

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  9. Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago

    Here is a link to the video of him entering the game and then hitting his first four shots for those who want to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYwoH_Lu_OY

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  10. Chad Ridgeway about 1 year ago

    Gil is back... Pau is back... Brand is back... Dirk is back... crazy night!

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    • Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago

      I was thinking the same thing! I just went over to NBA.com and almost every single story is about a return. It's crazy. haha

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  11. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    gil is my boy and the wizards are my team gil, w/ caron and jaminson can be unstoppible not to mention nick young and andre blatche who both have alot of potential the wizards if they have their roster healthy will go far in the playoff by first beating lebron and the team he's on whoever they are lol.

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  12. Anonymous about 1 year ago

    lebron and the team he's on whoever they are haha thats so funny i like that seeing how thats true he has like no one on his team except wallace but he's not consistant

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  13. TJ Zwarych about 1 year ago

    I love Gilbert Arenas, if he is 100% healthy in playoffs, the wizards will go a long way. (which sucks cuz im a raptor fan)

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  14. Alex Kennedy about 1 year ago

    Thanks for the comments everybody!

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  15. wade neubauer about 1 year ago

    wheres the love for Ramon man?

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  1. wade neubauer about 1 year ago

    thanks, it means alot to hear something good about the bucks for a change.

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