1x NBA Champion Was ‘Hurt’ When Gilbert Arenas Switched From Being Number 0 to 9

During his playing days, Gilbert Arenas made the #0 jersey his own. He donned the number during his two-year stint with the Arizona Wildcats and his first 10 seasons in the NBA. His jersey number and dominant playstyle earned him the moniker Agent Zero. However, he surprisingly switched from #0 to #9 during the 2010-11 season, leaving many, including Jeff Teague, disappointed.

On the Club 520 podcast, the former Hawks guard recalled going up against Arenas for the first time in 2010. The sophomore star was excited to face the veteran but his enthusiasm deflated when he saw the Wizards star donning the #9 jersey.

Teague had grown up watching Arenas wearing #0 and dominating and planned on asking for his jersey after the game. However, he scuppered his plan. The retired guard said,

“My first time playing against you, it was right after the gun stuff. You came back, it was John Wall’s rookie year. You wasn’t wearing zero no more, I was hurt. Mike Bibby[Arenas’ teammate] was like, ‘We bout to play Gill, what you gon do when you go out there, be a fan?’ I was like, ‘Nah, Imma ask him for his jersey’. So I walked out there and you had 9 on. I’m like, ‘Nah, I don’t want the 9’.. I was like that ain’t right.’”

Teague also recalled that Arenas was tasked with guarding him when the Wizards were on defense. He claimed the veteran knew his mood wasn’t right, prompting him to deem the young star an easy assignment. Arenas admitted that he did pick Teague on defense to avoid guarding Jamal Crawford. 

Arenas switched from #0 to #9 before the 2010-11 season to leave his troublesome past behind and start afresh. In the previous campaign, the Wizards star destroyed his reputation by bringing a gun into the locker room and pointing it at teammate Javaris Crittenton after an argument over gambling debts.

While Arenas was under investigation, he made matters worse with an ill-advised act. During the Wizards’ pre-game introduction before their game against the 76ers in Philadelphia, the guard pretended to shoot his teammates with finger guns, prompting NBA Commissioner David Stern to suspend him indefinitely.

It lasted the rest of the campaign and he was reinstated before the 2010-11 season. Arenas wanted to wipe the slate clean and changed his jersey number, indicating that he was turning the page. However, the move left fans baffled.

Without him donning #0, the Agent Zero moniker no longer made sense. The switch to #9 also did little to repair his reputation as he was out of the NBA only two seasons later. He spent a year in China with the Shanghai Sharks and hasn’t played professionally since 2013.

The #0 jersey seemingly had some mystical energy as Arenas was among the most explosive players in the NBA for 10 seasons before he surprisingly decided to ditch a key part of his identity.