Age, Biography, and Wiki
Gilbert Arenas was born in Tampa, Florida, but grew up in the Los Angeles area. He attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, where he began to develop his basketball skills. Arenas was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 31st overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft. He is renowned for his stint with the Washington Wizards, where he earned the nickname "Agent Zero" due to his jersey number and late-game prowess.
| Occupation | Basketball Players |
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| Date of Birth | 6 January 1982 |
| Age | 43 Years |
| Birth Place | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Capricorn |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Gilbert Arenas stands at a height of 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters) and played as a shooting guard and point guard, known for his versatility and scoring ability.
| Height | 6 feet 3 inches |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Gilbert Arenas married his wife, Melli, on January 20, 2025. This marks a significant personal milestone in his life after retirement from professional basketball.
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Net Worth and Salary
Gilbert Arenas has a net worth of $10 million as of 2025, despite earning $160 million in salary during his NBA career. His significant earnings were largely due to his six-year contract worth $111 million with the Washington Wizards.
After the 2002–03 season, Arenas became a restricted free agent. He reportedly flipped a coin to decide among several teams seeking to sign him, including the Wizards, Warriors, and Clippers. The Washington Wizards offered him a six-year, $60 million contract making him the face of the franchise after just turning 21 years old. The Warriors were unable to match this offer because they were over the salary cap and because Arenas was a second-round pick. If Arenas had been drafted in the first round, the salary cap had exceptions that would have allowed the Warriors to match the offer sheet. The "Gilbert Arenas Rule" was later created to allow teams to re-sign restricted free agents who were not first-round picks. Arenas battled a strained abdominal muscle injury all season which would cause him to have only to start 52 games in his first year in Washington and constantly sitting on the sidelines dropped his shooting percentage instead of breaking out into the franchise cornerstones in his first year Washington envisioned, Arenas still led the team in PPG and APG.
During the off-season, Arenas said that he was willing to take a pay cut in order to give the Wizards additional money with which to sign available free agents. He had expressed a desire to win a championship with the Wizards. One of Arenas' most memorable plays was a 40-foot jump shot in Round 1 of the 2006 NBA playoffs in which the Wizards were eliminated by the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.
On January 6, 2010, Arenas' 28th birthday, the NBA suspended him indefinitely without pay until its investigation was complete. By nearly all accounts, the league felt compelled to act when Arenas' teammates surrounded him during pregame introductions prior to a game with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he pretended to shoot them with guns made from his fingers. NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement that Arenas' behavior after the investigation started "has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game." He also said that Arenas was likely facing a lengthy suspension. The Wizards issued a statement of their own condemning the players' pregame stunt as "unacceptable". On January 27, 2010, Arenas and Crittenton were suspended for the rest of the season, after meeting with Stern. On February 2, 2010, Arenas wrote an open editorial in The Washington Post, in which he apologized for his actions, particularly for failing to be a better role model to young fans and for "making light of a serious situation." On March 26, 2010, Arenas was convicted for his crimes and was sentenced to two years' probation and 30 days in a halfway house. Arenas started his sentence in the halfway house on April 9. He was released on May 7. The punishment for Arenas was significantly stiffer than for Crittenton, who received a year of unsupervised probation, or Delonte West, who had been driving around in a three-wheeled motorcycle in Prince George's County with several loaded guns including a shotgun in a violin case. For his crime, West received eight months of home detention, two months of unsupervised probation, and forty hours of community service.
Career, Business, and Investments
Arenas had a distinguished NBA career, playing for the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, and briefly in China. He was a three-time NBA All-Star and won the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2003. Post-retirement, Arenas has ventured into podcasting with "The No Chill Podcast," which he hosts, and has signed a long-term contract with Fubo Sports Network. His social media presence and podcasting career have become significant business ventures.
Arenas is a three-time NBA All-Star, three-time member of the All-NBA Team during his time in Washington, and was voted the NBA Most Improved Player in the 2002–03 season in his final season in Golden State. Arenas was nicknamed "Agent Zero" while playing with Washington, due to his jersey number (0). He has also been nicknamed "Hibachi" Both names quickly became fan favorites during his time in the Washington, D.C. area. Arenas played the shooting guard and point guard position.
After a productive college career, Arenas entered the 2001 NBA draft. Despite strong consideration from many teams in the first round and even lottery teams such as the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings, Arenas fell to the second round in part due to his effort in interviews despite strong performances in workouts and scrimmages, being selected with the first pick of the second round 31st overall pick by the Golden State Warriors. Arenas stated, "I had my 2-day pre-Draft workout with Celtics. Killed the first one, I skipped the 2nd to heal my Achilles so I can tryout with other teams. Celtic's Jim O'Brien put out the rumor that I was immature, didn't take it seriously. Once I was labelled that I was done as a 1st rounder." While slipping through the draft, Arenas contacted Rodney Tention, who was responsible for recruiting him to Arizona to see if he could return to school. Arenas was shocked teammate Richard Jefferson was selected ahead of him despite Jefferson mocked commonly in the top 10 to the late lottery. Arenas would wear the number 0 on his jersey to signify the number of minutes that experts predicted he would play coming as a 17 year old low end prospect from a small high school going to a college powerhouse in Arizona. Gilbert made his NBA debut on November 4, 2001, vs the Portland Trail Blazers after not playing his first 3 games, Arenas went scoreless, Arenas scored his first point a free throw in a game vs the Toronto Raptors on November 7, 2001. Arenas made his first field goal on January 16, 2002, in a game vs the Cleveland Cavaliers scoring 7 points and going 3-4 from the field. Arenas made his first career start on February 15, 2002, and on February 17, 2002, vs the Atlanta Hawks, Arenas had his first double digit scoring game with 12 points; he continued the streak to 9 games with one double double in that stretch. Arenas started 30 games and averaged 10.9 points per game for the Warriors, who finished in last place in the Western Conference that season. In 2002–03, his sophomore season, Arenas received the NBA Most Improved Player Award averaging 18.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds as Golden State improved its victory total to 38, up from 21 last season with Arenas leading the charge, and was named Most Valuable Player of the Rookie-Sophomore game during the NBA All-Star Weekend. Arenas had a 33 game stretch where he averaged 23.4 PPG 5.7 APG and 4.7 RPG with 1.5 SPG on 46.7% FG and 37.7% from 3. Arenas had one of the best performances of his career during March 2003, when he dropped 41 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished five assists in a win against the Wizards which would be the team that made him their franchise player after the Warriors were unable to match. Arenas said after he won the Most Improved Player award that he didn't think there was much to improve, and he had only needed more playing time and more experience.
In an overtime game versus the Los Angeles Lakers on December 17, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Arenas scored a career-high 60 points, adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists in helping lead the Wizards over the Lakers, 147–141. Arenas holds the Wizards' franchise record for points scored in a game by an individual, a record he now shares with Bradley Beal. The previous record of 56 points was held by Earl Monroe, achieved in 1968, which was also an overtime game against the Lakers. Arenas' 16 points in the extra period also set an NBA record for most points in one overtime period, surpassing Earl Boykins' record by one point.
On December 24, 2009, it was reported that Arenas had admitted to storing unloaded firearms in his locker at the Verizon Center and had surrendered them to team security. In doing so, Arenas not only violated NBA rules against bringing firearms into an arena, but also violated D.C. ordinances as well. On January 1, 2010, it was also reported that Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton had drawn guns on each other in the Wizards' locker room during a Christmas Eve argument regarding gambling debts. The D.C. Metropolitan Police and the U.S. Attorney's office began investigating, and on January 14, 2010, Arenas was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, a violation of Washington, D.C.'s gun-control laws. Arenas pleaded guilty on January 15 to the felony of carrying an unlicensed pistol outside a home or business.
Arenas donated $100 for every point he scored in each home game during the 2006–07 season to local D.C.-area schools, while Wizards team owner Abe Pollin matched that contribution for each away game. He has also mentored a D.C. boy who lost his family in a fire at age 10. Arenas got him a job as a ball boy for the Wizards.
Social Network
Gilbert Arenas is active on social media platforms, with a strong presence on Instagram under the handle @no.chill.gil, where he has over 1 million followers. He also maintains a YouTube channel, "NoChillGil0," where he hosts live streams.
During the off-season, Arenas told The Washington Post that he would opt out of his contract after the 2007–08 season, making him a free agent. He stated, "...if something happens where they don't want me or they're going in a different direction, I can look elsewhere. But my intentions are not to leave."
Arenas hosted a daily sports show on Complex News' YouTube channel. He also has his own No Chill Productions podcast, The No Chill Podcast. In 2023, he launched another podcast called Gil's Arena in partnership with Underdog Fantasy Sports which he hosted with Josiah Johnson and featured former NBA and WNBA players such as Brandon Jennings, Rashad McCants, Kenyon Martin, Lexie Brown and Sheryl Swoopes, with Norris Cole being a frequent guest on the show. Arenas is a regular co-host alongside Chad Johnson on Shannon Sharpe's podcast, Nightcap. Arenas has had a show and created content with Fubo Tv for many years.
Arenas has four children with Laura Govan, whom he dated from 2002 until 2014. Arenas met Govan while he was playing for the Warriors. Govan worked with the Sacramento Kings' public relations department. Arenas' son Alijah is a 5 star prospect in the class of 2025, who committed to play for the USC Trojans. His daughter Izela Arenas is the 88th ranked prospect in the class of 2024 and is committed to Louisville. In July 2024, Arenas announced his engagement to French social media influencer Melli Monaco. Melli and Gilbert married on January 20, 2025.
Education
Arenas attended Grant High School and later accepted a scholarship to the University of Arizona, where he played basketball for two seasons before being drafted into the NBA.
Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (born January 6, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Arenas attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, and accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Arizona late in his junior year. He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 31st overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft.
His grandfather Hippolito Arenas, was a first-generation Cuban American. Arenas was raised in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles where he played basketball at Ulysses S. Grant High School. His number, #25, was retired by the school. Arenas was a late bloomer, taking the final spot on the national ranking as the 99th in the class of 1999. Before beginning his freshman year at the University of Arizona, Arenas attended Michael Jordan's basketball camp and was chosen to play on Jordan's team during a game. He impressed Jordan by scoring eight baskets in his first eight possessions. Following the camp, Jordan told coach Lute Olson that Arenas deserved time on the court. Rodney Tention recruited Arenas to Arizona during a Summer AAU game.
Arenas played basketball at the University of Arizona. He was 17 years old during his freshman season at Arizona, where he played 34 games, starting 31 of them and averaging 15.4 PPG and 4.1 RPG playing both shooting guard and point guard. One of his teammates, Richard Jefferson, would later join him in entering the 2001 NBA draft. In 2001, Arenas' sophomore year, he was named first-team All-Pac-10. He helped lead Arizona to the national championship game, where they lost to the Duke Blue Devils, 82–72. Arenas, who was reportedly dealing with a knee injury, struggled in the championship game. He scored 10 points, grabbing 4 rebounds and dishing 4 assists, shooting 4-17 from the field and 4-13 from 3, in what would be his final game with Arizona. Shortly after the tournament, Arenas announced that he was foregoing his last two years at college and would enter the 2001 NBA draft. NBA scouts thought that Arenas, at the time aged only 19, was Arizona's best pro prospect.
Upon his return to the Wizards for the 2010–11 season, Arenas elected to change his number from 0 to 9, claiming he was trying to put the entire incident from the previous season behind him. (Arenas had worn #0 all the way from college through his time in the NBA as a constant reminder of the number of minutes his critics said he would play in the NBA.)
