With 60 points in a 147-141 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Gilbert Arenas set a new Washington Wizards franchise record for points scored in a game; outscored Kobe Bryant by 15 points; and scored more points against the Lakers than anyone in history except Wilt Chamberlain.
Arenas broke a record that had stood since 2/13/68, when Earl Monroe of the Baltimore Bullets scored 56, also in a game against the Lakers that went to overtime.
Not bad for someone who fell to 31st overall in the 2001 NBA Draft, huh? For the record, DeSagana Diop (CLE), Rodney White (DET), Kirk Haston (CHA), Michael Bradley (TOR), Joseph Forte (BOS), and, hee, of course Kwame Brown (WAS) were all selected ahead of Arenas.
The Washington Wizards franchise is celebrating its 45th year of existence; it started as the Chicago Packers in 1961, becoming the Chicago Zephyrs the following year. From 1963 to 1972 they were the Baltimore Bullets, they were the Capital Bullets for one year and then became the Washington Bullets, which they were from 1974 to 1997 before adopting their present name.
"Hurt me if you must, but let the duckie go." --The Oracle of the Sunken Valley, The Order of the Stick
Five-Time W of the Day (5/27/02; 7/3/02; 7/30/04; 8/28/04; 12/16/05)
The Only Five-Time (and Last) N.E.W. World Heavyweight Champion
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Of course, Kwame Brown was drafted out of high school, so he's still got time to make something of himself. Hey, gotta find that silver lining SOMEWHERE.
Honestly can't believe no one out of Washington has ever put up 60 before.
"That's the thing: Maybe he'll be up and down this season, but when he's up, is there another center in the league quite like him? He protects the rim, passes out of double teams, has great hands around the basket, up-fakes on his jump-hooks, rebounds in traffic, even has a motor that keeps going and going (unlike a stiff like Eddy Curry). I'm not sure what's missing here. This is stunning. This is startling. There's almost no precedent for it. Just what the Lakers needed: More obscenely good luck. Meanwhile, I have to watch Al Jefferson whip jump-hooks off the front of the rim for the third straight season. I will now pour scalding hot water down my pants." -Bill Simmons on Andrew Bynum (11/08/06)
After the game, Kobe made some crack about Arenas having no conscience and just merely lobbing the ball up at will. Thank goodness, it was getting to be weeks since the last time Kobe tried to make me hate him even more.
Oh hush. You KNOW that when it's March and his team has been eliminated from the playoffs for 6 weeks there is NO BIGGER MONEY PLAYER IN THE NBA than Van Exel (aka Milk Dud Head).
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