Background and career
Trevor Anthony Ariza (born June 30, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A small forward, Ariza played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins before being selected in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. Ariza won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009. He also played for the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, and Miami Heat.
Ariza attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles. As a junior in 2001–02, he combined with teammates and fellow future NBA players Hassan Adams, Brandon Heath, and Bobby Brown to lead the Comets to the California State championship. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Ariza was listed as the No. 5 power forward and the No. 18 player in the nation in 2003. As a freshman at UCLA in 2003–04, Ariza played in 25 games (23 starts) and averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 steals. He subsequently earned All-Pac 10 Freshman Team honors. He declared for the NBA Draft following his freshman campaign at UCLA.
Ariza was selected by the New York Knicks in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2004 NBA draft. At 19 years, four months and four days old, Ariza became the youngest player to ever suit up for the Knicks. In the 2004–2005 season, his 80 games and 1,382 minutes were the most played by a Knicks rookie since Greg Anthony played 82 games in the 1991–1992 season. Ariza averaged 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in his rookie season.
In February 2006, Ariza was traded along with Penny Hardaway to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Steve Francis. After the trade, he played in 21 games and averaged 4.7 points per game for the rest of the season. In the 2006–07 season he played in 57 games and started in 7. He averaged 8.9 points along with 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
In November 2007, Ariza was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans. He fractured a bone in his right foot in January 2008, but made his return in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs in late May, scoring a basket within his first minute of play. The Lakers went on to defeat the Spurs in 5 games and advance to the 2008 NBA Finals, but lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games. In the 2008–09 season, he played in all 82 games, starting 20. Ariza was ejected during a game against Portland on March 9, 2009, following a flagrant foul on Rudy Fernández. On March 15, 2009, versus the Dallas Mavericks, Ariza scored a career-high 26 points along with 3 steals, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. After becoming a starter, he began to show more ability on defense. In the playoffs, Ariza scored a playoff career-high 21 points in Game 1 of the first round against Utah Jazz. In the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Ariza stole an inbound pass from Chauncey Billups in Game 1 to help Lakers beat the Nuggets. In Game 3, the Lakers led by two points with 37.1 seconds remaining when Ariza stole Kenyon Martin's pass to Carmelo Anthony near midcourt to help the Lakers take a 2–1 lead. The Lakers won the series 4–2, sending them to the NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic. In Game 4 of the Finals, Ariza, who was 0-for-6 in the first half, scored 13 in the third quarter to help the Lakers win in overtime and finished the game with nine rebounds and three 3-pointers. The Lakers went on to win their 15th NBA title in five games, 4–1. Ariza averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and shot 50% from three-point range in the playoffs.
On July 3, 2009, Ariza reached an agreement with the Houston Rockets worth $33 million over five years. Ariza was signed using the Disabled Player Exception the Rockets were granted for injured center Yao Ming. On October 31, 2009, against the Portland Trail Blazers, Ariza scored a career high 33 points in a 111–107 Rockets win. On December 13, 2009, Ariza was ejected after he attempted to punch DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors after having the ball stolen by him. He was subsequently suspended for one game. On April 14, 2010, in the Rockets' final game of the season, Ariza recorded his first career triple-double, tallying 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
