Trevor Ariza

High school and college career

Ariza attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles, where 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.

New York Knicks (2004–2006)

Ariza was selected by the New York Knicks in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2004 NBA draft. He played in 80 games during his rookie campaign with New York and averaged 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. At the time, he became the youngest player to ever wear a Knicks uniform (19 years, four months and four days old). His 80 games and 1,382 minutes were the most played by a Knicks rookie since Greg Anthony in 1991–92 (82 games played).

Orlando Magic (2006–2007)

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. In the 2006–07 season he played in 57 games and started in 7, averaging a career high 8.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Los Angeles Lakers (2007–2009)

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.

2009 Playoffs

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 Lakers take a 2-1 lead. The Lakers eventually 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 a career-high 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and shot 50% from three-point range in the playoffs.

Houston Rockets (2009–2010)

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.

New Orleans Hornets (2010–2012)

On August 11, 2010, Ariza was traded to the New Orleans Hornets as part of a four-team, five-player trade, with Darren Collison and James Posey going to the Indiana Pacers, Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets, and Courtney Lee to Houston. During the 2011 NBA playoffs, Ariza logged career highs in minutes per game (40.2), points per game (15.5) rebounds (6.5) and assists (3.3). The Hornets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games in the first round.

Washington Wizards (2012–2014)

On June 20, 2012, Ariza and Emeka Okafor were traded to the Washington Wizards for Rashard Lewis and a draft pick to the New Orleans Hornets.

On February 12, 2014, Ariza recorded a career high 10 made three pointers to score a season high 32 points, as well 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, in a 112-113 loss to the Houston Rockets.

On March 1, 2014, Ariza recorded a career high 40 points, including eight 3-pointers, in a 122-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

On April 27, 2014, Ariza set a playoff career-high 30 points against the Chicago Bulls in Game 4 of their 2014 NBA Playoffs first round match-up, which the Wizards won 98-89. The team went on to lose to the Indiana Pacers in six games in the conference semifinals.

Second stint with Houston (2014–present)

On July 15, 2014, Ariza was acquired by the Houston Rockets in a three-team sign-and-trade deal that also involved the Wizards and the New Orleans Pelicans. On February 6, 2015, he tied a season-high with 24 points in a 117–111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

On December 9, 2015, Ariza sat out Houston's game against the Wizards with a bruised lower back, which snapped Ariza's streak of 172 straight games played. On January 24, 2016, he scored a season-high 29 points and made a season-high six three-pointers in a 115–104 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He topped that mark the following night, scoring 31 points in a 112–111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. On February 27, he made two three-pointers against the San Antonio Spurs to extend his streak with at least one three-pointer to 29 games, the longest streak by a Rockets player since 39 in a row by Aaron Brooks in the 2009–10 season. The streak ended at 30 after shooting 0-of-8 from three-point range against the New Orleans Pelicans on March 2.

Personal life

On March 18, 1996, Ariza's youngest brother, Tajh Ariza, died after falling out of a hotel room window in Caracas, Venezuela. His first son is named after his late brother.

Ariza's stepfather, Kenny McClary, played at the University of Florida in the mid to late 1980s, and professionally with the Sydney Kings in Australia.

Ariza is of Turks & Caicos Islands and Dominican descent through his grandfather Osvaldo Ariza (a Turks and Caicos Islander of Dominican descent), and his parents, Lolita Ariza and Trevor Saunders of Grand Turk. Ariza once considered changing his citizenship to play for the Dominican Republic national basketball team. However, he later accepted an invitation to the Team USA training camp.