Alijah Arenas with his dad, former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas, at the Flight Club … [+]
Alijah Arenas is more than just Gilbert Arenas’ son — he’s one of the top high school basketball recruits in the country.
The 6-foot-7, 16-year-old shooting guard is entering his junior season at Chatsworth High School in California and is considered the fourth-top recruit in the Class of 2026, according to ESPN’s rankings. He already has a list of offers from Alabama, Kansas, Texas, UCLA and his dad’s alma mater, the Arizona Wildcats.
His father, Gilbert, became one of the top stars in the NBA during the mid-2000’s with the Washington Wizards. The elder Arenas was a three-time All-Star (2005-2007) and three-time All-NBA selection who once went toe-to-toe with Kobe Bryant while scoring a franchise record 60 points while leading the Wizards to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006.
While his father was known for his propensity to score — Gilbert averaged 29.3 points per game at his peak — Alijah wants to be known as more than just a pure scorer — he wants to be known as an all-around player.
“It’s scoring,” says Arenas in a one-on-one interview when asked what he’s best known for. “But I’ve actually thought about that and I really want to change that. I don’t want it to just be scoring. I want it to be many other things. If you were to basically give an overview of me, I feel like all you have to say right now is scoring. I don’t really want that headline.
The 16-year-old five-star recruit — he’s already taller than his dad, who is 6-foot-4 — says he wants to develop an all-around game. He makes sure to focus and hone in on things he’s not particularly good at.
“I want a variety of things,” says Arenas. “I’ve been really thinking about that, what am I good at and what am I lacking at? When I’m training, I normally look at, what am I not good at? What do I really need to key into? If I can really focus on a lot of things and I can get a lot of stuff done, the way people will look at me is better.”
He stresses that he wants to be better with his “communication,” which will help when it comes to him running the offense and keying in on defense with his teammates.
It’s clear that Arenas wants to make strides outside of just his ability to score — something to be expected for somebody is still developing and growing as a player and person.
“Communication — I feel like sometimes I get quiet,” says Arenas. “I feel like communication is a big one. I feel like free throws, it was never a thought to practice that. I feel like it always came naturally, but even last year and this year, having a realization I need to hone in on my skills. Even the little things like free throws. If they’re free, they’re there for you. Something simple as that, getting a routine in.
Arenas recently participated in the Flight Club Invitational in Santa Monica, California in October with other top-level high school prospects. The Invitational is notable because it features other sons of well-known NBA stars such as Tajh Ariza — the son of Trevor Ariza — and Carter and Isaiah Barnes, both sons of Matt Barnes. Ariza is considered the seventh-top recruit of the Class of 2026.
“This is my second time in the Flight Club Invitational,” says Arenas. “It’s always fun, because I get to see my old teammates. It’s kind of like a get-together with a lot of athletes and it’s always fun, it’s never a letdown.”
Barnes explains how it’s a tight-knit community at the Invitational because all the top recruits know one another. However, they all want to compete and win.
“I’m very close with everybody,” says Barnes of the other prospects at the Invitational. “When you get something like Flight Club Invitational, it’s like a challenge for everybody else that’s there. It’s like, we’re all buddies, but now we got to get to the court and face each other. It makes it all the more fun to go against who you know, we hang out off the court, on the court, but now when you get to something like that, it’s just special for me, it’s very different.”
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell also made an appearance at the Invitational and had chats with the prospects there, even hosting Arenas for his podcast, “The Backyard Podcast.”
“Keep grinding,” say Arenas of Russell’s advice to him. “The way I hold myself, to represent myself. He said he really admired that. I really admire him too, which is kind of crazy from him telling me that. I’ve always watched his game. I love his style, I love his swag, but the advice for me was just to keep going at it.
“Go for everybody in the league,” Arenas continues to say of Russell’s advice. “Don’t hold yourself back from anything like seeing how far you could really take this game. I really took that to heart, I really want to put that in my craft to always keep pursuing and always keep getting better.”
Russell — who is a former NBA All-Star and is now in his 10th season in the league — details his advice to Arenas and other top prospects at the Invitational.
“I just tried to hear what their approach and their preparation was mentally,” says Russell. “All three (Arenas, Ariza and Tyran Stokes) of those guys had it. I did give them advice in continuing to be yourself within all of this, it’s about to get crazy for these dudes. Obviously college, if it’s in the future and then the pros, it’s going to change for them that quick. I was just telling them, be where your feet are, enjoy it, because when it turns, it turns.”
Although he’s just 16 years old, Arenas possesses maturity and a self-awareness not seen in many players his age. That likely has to do with the influence of his dad — who was a star in the NBA — and his mom, who was also a college basketball player at New Mexico State.
“I have to know my routine, I have to take my time, I have to focus and hone in on that,” says Arenas “I feel like on the defensive end, I feel like that’s just helpful. I feel like I’m not looking to be the greatest at defense or even the greatest on offense. I feel like no matter what you do, I feel like hustle matters the most. I’m trying to really stay consistent on giving a hundred every single time.”
For those that are wondering what Arenas’ game looks like, just think of a taller, lengthier Jamal Crawford. Crawford lasted two decades in the NBA as a walking bucket and annual Sixth Man of the Year candidate, winning the award three times and scoring 50-plus points in a game on four different occasions.
Obviously, Arenas is two years away from making his debut at a major university and at least three years away from debuting in the NBA. A lot will change in his game from now until then. But if he had to compare himself to a player based upon his current skill set, it would be Crawford and Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, he admits those comparisons are based upon what he’s heard and not really how he views himself.
“I’ve been told — especially when I was younger — that I play like Jamal Crawford,” says Arenas. “I’ve heard Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) a little bit. Honestly, for me to tell you, I don’t really know. For me, if I see something and I like it, I’ll use it. It’s not like I’m planning on using it, it just happens. If I see it one time — like if I’m at a 24 hour fitness — I see somebody did it, I’ll try it in the game to work. That’s the type of person I am. My dad will say, ‘Hey, come look at this.’ We see something, work on it, I’ll put it in the game.”
Arenas — who averaged 33.0 points during his sophomore campaign and 30.3 points per game during his freshman year — says he has no preference when it comes to schools based upon geographic region. He says that just because he plays on the West Coast, it doesn’t mean he’ll pick a school on that side of the country — he’ll pick based upon the best fit.
And although he’s considered a polished scorer for his age, Arenas has learned to never be content with his game. It’s something that his dad and other NBA players — he’s matched up against the likes of Kevin Durant and admits he’s the toughest player he’s played against — such as Danny Green have advised him even when he’s coming off of a huge scoring game.
“You always want to see more,” says Arenas of what Green and NBA players have advised him. “If you can’t see right now, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. I had one of the spots on the ones and he made me kind of look back on it. How do you think you did? Like yeah, I won. But it’s like, how did you win? Did you win officially? Did you win unofficially? What were you doing? You have to really look back on it. Then I really sat there again and I was just like, OK, I could have done that, could have done this.”
Although Arenas is in high school, NIL has exploded to the point where even student-athletes at his age are cashing in. The 16-year-old says he has a current deal with Panini — the sports trading card company — and is “looking” into deals right now, but he’s not really focused on that.
“I have a deal with Panini, I’m looking into deals right now,” says Arenas. “There’s just one and then I’m not too worried about deals if they come in or not. Getting deals like that is just fun as a kid. But even with deals like that, there comes life lessons, like I really have to start maturing, I really have to start thinking about certain stuff, thinking about further in life.”
Arenas doubles down on his mindset of not placing too much value in NIL — his valuation is $720K, the 22nd-highest of any high school basketball star — and says that money will be there in the league and in life.
“With NIL, it’s just kind of a learning experience to get you ready for something,” says Arenas. “I know that there’s a lot of money in the league, and a lot of money there in life. The league is just the start and then your life branches out. You play in the league, you get money, Alright, I’m playing in the league, I want to get in business. I never looked at the league as just the league. I’ve looked at it, how much can I really do with what I’m getting and what I’m doing and what I have.”
We’ll see where Arenas ultimately takes his talents and how his game develops over the years. But it’s clear that he may be the next great basketball star in the coming years. Despite his young age, he’s self-aware of his own shortcomings and flaws and isn’t content with his current game — he’s looking to get better and grow before he enters the college and pro ranks.
