• Gilbert Arenas claims that he received $64 million in his first major NBA contract due to a 41-point performance on Michael Jordan
• Jordan was playing for the Wizards at the time, the same team that gave Arenas the contract
• Arenas played with the Wizards for seven seasons, signing a six-year, $111 million extension in 2008
Gilbert Arenas had an incredibly lucrative career in the NBA, receiving massive contracts during his prime that made the NBA introduce new rules in the CBA.
That upward trajectory started when Arenas was playing for the Golden State Warriors in his sophomore season and went up against Michael Jordan‘s Washington Wizards. Arenas claims his 41-point performance on MJ led to the Wizards offering him a six-year, $64 million contract in the summer of 2003.
“I gave that f***er 41. I think me and Antawn [Jamison] still hold the record for a duo to score the most points against the Wizards. I did 41, he had 39. Larry [Hughes] was there. That’s what got me paid, they’ve seen what I did to MJ.”
Jamison actually had 37 points in this game, which took place on March 23, 2003. Jordan actually had 24 points in a solid but less-than-stellar performance.
Arenas’ Warriors won the game and it led to the Wizards changing the NBA in the summer of 2003.
The Birth Of The ‘Gilbert Arenas Provision’
The Gilbert Arenas provision was born in the NBA after the Wizards signed him from the Warriors on that lucrative contract, something that the Warriors couldn’t match. Due to Arenas being a second-round pick, his rookie contract was limited to two seasons. This made him a free agent in 2003 and the Wizards signed him to a contract that the Warriors couldn’t match under CBA rules.
Due to this signing, the NBA included the ‘Arenas Rule‘, which allows second-round picks to be re-signed by a team if they keep their cap hold on their books. However, the acquiring team can offer well above the max contract the incumbent team can offer. The Arenas provision allows them to re-sign them on this inflated value, typically featuring back-loaded contracts or poison pill restrictions.
The Lakers would’ve had to rely on the ‘Arenas Rule’ to re-sign Austin Reaves if an opposing team came in with a $100 million contract, as had been rumored. Due to that not happening, the Lakers could re-sign Reaves to the max amount of four years, $56 million.
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