When speaking about great scorers, people often overlook Gilbert Arenas. The three-time All-Star was a bucket during his days with the Wizards, but one of his best-ever performances came against his future franchise. Back when Gil was still a Warrior, he dropped 41 points against the Wizards. What made this game even more special was the fact that he was matched up against a certain Michael Jordan.
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Taking on Michael Jordan, even if he wasn’t at his peak, is a big achievement. The 41-point game was one of Gil’s best scoring performances, and it came in 2003. Agent Zero was in his second NBA season, coming into his own, whereas MJ had just turned 40 and was playing his final few games in the NBA.
Talking about how it was like facing MJ, Gil described, “It’s Jordan, so for the most part, you’re admiring as a young fan. But you’re also trying to show him that you belong too.”
He then talked about his 41-point performance against MJ. Taking on Jordan and leading his team to a 113-107 win was an achievement in itself, but Gil revealed to Dan Patrick that he was playing with fire as well. Arenas shared with Dan Patrick how he was trash-talked His Airness during the contest. Arenas revealed that he used to be a counselor at Jordan’s annual basketball camps, and his closeness with MJ allowed him the freedom to trash-talk a bit.
He told Patrick, “I was a Jordan camp kid, I was a counselor, I was performing very well then too. So when I got to the NBA, I used to talk a bunch of trash about how I did him [in the camps], and he said, ‘This is the big league.’ And nothing changed.”
Of course, Arenas’ tremendous offensive talent had him projected to go top 10 in the 2001 draft, but off-court behavior saw him drop to the 31st pick. He had three solid years with the Warriors, but it was with Washington that he made a name for himself. His most memorable game for the Wizards was against the Lakers, where he scored 60 points against Kobe Bryant, leading his Wizards to a huge win.
Gilbert Arenas was told to ‘replace’ Michael Jordan in Washington
When Michael Jordan finally retired in 2003, the Wizards were desperate to move on from his era. Sure, it wasn’t hugely successful in terms of championships or playoff appearances, but some of the younger players had been low on morale because of Jordan’s style of leadership.
Arenas revealed that when he negotiated his free agency move out of Golden State, he had two main destinations: LA to play for the Clippers, or the Wizards. On his Gil’s Arena podcast, he revealed that the deciding factor was the freedom that the Wizards gave him and the fact that he was told he would have to replace Jordan in Washington.
“When I went there, they said, ‘If you get me out of this Jordan era, you’re taken care of,'” he revealed. “I didn’t even go back to renegotiate. All I heard was, ‘You get me out of this Jordan era,’ like erase Jordan’s name? It’s just the competition. Cool!”
Not a lot of people can say they scored 41 on Michael Jordan, and even fewer can say they effectively replaced him as a team’s first option. Gilbert Arenas can proudly claim he did both, and in a lot of people’s eyes, he will remain a bonfide NBA Legend.
