Izela Arenas, the talented daughter of Gilbert Arenas, makes her mark in high school and college hoops.
Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr., born January 6, 1982, in Tampa, Florida, has built both an impressive basketball career and a flourishing family.
The three-time NBA All-Star, nicknamed “Agent Zero” and “Hibachi” during his prime with the Washington Wizards, has established a legacy that extends beyond his own athletic achievements.
After attending Grant High School in Los Angeles, where his jersey number 25 was retired, Arenas accepted a scholarship to the University of Arizona before being drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 31st overall pick in 2001.
Throughout his 12-year NBA career, he earned multiple accolades, including being named NBA Most Improved Player in the 2002-03 season.
Off the court, Gilbert has built a family that’s making waves in basketball circles.
He shares four children with his ex-partner Laura Govan: Izela, Alijah, Hamiley, and Aloni.
He also has a daughter named Gia with ex-girlfriend Lindsey Faulk.
Gilbert’s strong work ethic has been passed down to his children, who are all carving their own paths in basketball.
His older children have inherited his basketball genes, with Izela playing college basketball, Hamiley competing at the high school level, and Aloni gaining recognition on SportsCenter Next before finishing middle school.
Alijah is ranked among the top prospects in the country and is expected to be one of the standout players from the class of 2026.
Gilbert Arenas’ Daughter Izela Shines On The Court
Born on December 24, 2005, as Gilbert and Laura Govan’s first child, Izela Arenas has embraced basketball with the same passion as her famous father.
Her basketball journey gained significant momentum during her junior year of high school at Sierra Canyon School, where she played alongside other notable talents, including Mackenly Randolph (daughter of former NBA All-Star Zach Randolph) and Juju Watkins, then ranked as the No. 1 high school player in the country.
Izela helped lead Sierra Canyon to remarkable success, including a CIF Open Division championship, a CIF State Open Division championship, an ESPN national championship, and four league championships.
During her junior year, the team dominated with an impressive 31-1 record and secured the No. 1 ranking nationally.
In her senior year, Sierra Canyon continued its excellence with a 31-3 record and finished with a national ranking of ninth.
Her talents shone brightly when she won Overtime Elite’s Queen of the Court competition in Atlanta in May 2023, a prestigious one-on-one tournament featuring the top high school players in the country.
During this competition, Izela showcased her shooting prowess—a skill reminiscent of her father’s—by knocking down four consecutive three-pointers to claim the title.
Gilbert proudly celebrated this achievement on social media, highlighting his daughter’s accomplishment.
In interviews, Izela has acknowledged that she models her game after both her parents—her father, Gilbert, known for his scoring ability, and her mother, Laura, who played college basketball at New Mexico State University.
As a four-star prospect ranked No. 88 overall by ESPNHoopGurlz for the class of 2024, Izela brought significant talent and pedigree to her college career.
Izela began her collegiate basketball journey at the University of Louisville in 2024.
During her freshman season, she appeared in 29 games and averaged 4.2 points per game while shooting an impressive 41.8% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range.
She demonstrated her scoring ability by recording five games with 10 or more points, including a career-high 14 points against Clemson on February 27, when she shot an efficient 5-of-6 from the field.
However, after Louisville’s 2024-25 season concluded with a 22-11 record and an NCAA Tournament second-round appearance, Izela decided to enter the transfer portal.
She has since committed to Kansas State University for the 2025-26 season, joining a Wildcats program that is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and one of its most successful seasons in school history.
At 5-foot-9, Izela brings guard skills and shooting ability to K-State, where head coach Jeff Mittie values her backcourt presence.
With her basketball lineage and growing skill set, Izela Arenas continues to forge her own path in basketball while carrying forward the Arenas family’s athletic legacy.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Gilbert Arenas has Cuban American heritage through his grandfather, Hippolito Arenas, who was a first-generation Cuban American.
- Before his freshman year at Arizona, Arenas attended Michael Jordan’s basketball camp, where he impressed Jordan by scoring eight baskets in his first eight possessions, prompting Jordan to tell coach Lute Olson that Arenas deserved playing time.
- Arenas was suspended for most of the 2009-10 NBA season due to handgun violations stemming from an incident on December 24, 2009, and subsequent actions that appeared to make light of the situation.
