By james art Alijah Arenas with his father, former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas, at Flight Club … [+]
Aliyah Arenas is more than just Gilbert Arenas’ son — he’s one of the top high school basketball recruits in the country.
The 16-year-old shooting guard is entering his junior season at Chatsworth High School in California and is considered the fourth-best recruit in the 2026 class, according to ESPN’s rankings. He already has a list of offers from Alabama, Kansas, Texas, UCLA and his father’s alma mater, the Arizona Wildcats.
His father, Gilbert, became one of the NBA’s top stars in the mid-2000s with the Washington Wizards. The elder Arenas was a three-time All-Star (2005-2007) and three-time All-NBA who once matched Kobe Bryant, scoring a franchise-high 60 points while leading the Wizards to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2006
Although 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 scorer – he wants to be known as a versatile player.
“It’s scoring goals,” Arenas says in a one-on-one interview when asked what he’s best known for. “But I’ve actually thought about it and I really want to change it. I don’t just want to score. I want it to be many other things. If you had to give me an overview, I feel like all you have to say right now is making points. I really don’t want that title.
The 16-year-old five-star recruit — he’s already taller than his father, who is 6-foot-4 — says he wants to develop a versatile game. He makes sure to focus and perfect the things he’s not particularly good at.
“I want different things,” Arenas says. “I’ve really thought about what am I good at and what do I lack? When I practice I usually look at what am I not good at? What do I really need to enter? If I can really focus on a lot of things and I can get a lot of things done, the way people will look at me is better.”
He stresses that he wants to be better with his “communication”, which will help him when it comes to managing the attack and defense with his teammates.
It’s clear that Arenas wants to make strides beyond just his scoring ability, which is to be expected for someone who is still developing and growing as a player and person.
“Communication — I feel like I get silent sometimes,” Arenas says. “I feel like communication is big. I feel like penalty kicks, I never thought to practice that. I feel like it’s always come naturally, but even last year and this year, realizing I need to hone my skills. Even little things like free kicks. If they’re free, they’re there for you. Something as simple as that, getting into a routine.
Arenas recently participated in the Flight Club Invitational in Santa Monica, California in October with other grad school applicants. The Invitational is notable because it features other sons of famous 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-best recruit in the 2026 class.
“This is my second time at the Flight Club Invitational,” says Arenas. “It’s always fun because I see my old teammates. It’s kind of like getting together with a lot of athletes and it’s always fun, never a letdown.”
Barnes explains how the community at the Invitational is tight-knit because all the top recruits know each other. However, everyone wants to compete and win.
“I’m very close with everybody,” Barnes says of the other prospects at the Invitational. “When you get something like the Flight Club Invitational, it’s like a challenge for everyone else that’s out there. It’s like we’re all friends, but now we have to get to the court and face each other. It makes it even more fun to play against someone you know, we hang out off the court, on the court, but now when you get to something like this, it’s just special to me, it’s very different.”
Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell also appeared at the Invitational and chatted with prospects there, even hosting Arenas for his podcast, “The Backyard Podcast.”
“Keep grinding,” says Arenas of Russell’s advice to him. “The way I carry myself, present myself. He said he really admired it. And I really admire him, which is pretty crazy for him to tell me. I always watched his game. I like his style, I like his style, but the advice for me was just to go with it.
“Target everyone in the league,” Arenas continues to say of Russell’s advice. “Don’t hold back on anything like this to see how far you can really take this game.” I really took that to heart, I really want to put that into my craft to keep following it and getting better.”
Russell — who is a former NBA All-Star 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 was and their preparation mentally,” Russell says. “All three (Arenas, Ariza and Tyrann Stokes) of those guys had it. I gave them advice to keep being themselves through it all, 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 so quickly. I was just telling them, be where your feet are, enjoy it, because when it turns, it turns.
Despite being just 16 years old, Arenas possesses a maturity and self-awareness not seen in many players his age. This probably has to do with the influence of his father – who was an NBA star – and his mother, who was also a college basketball player at New Mexico State.
“I’ve got to know my routine, I’ve got to take my time, I’ve got to focus and hone in on it,” Arenas said “I feel like defensively, I feel like that’s just helpful. I feel like I don’t want to be the greatest on defense or even the greatest on offense. I feel that no matter what you do, I feel that pushing is the most important thing. I try to really stay consistent in giving a hundred every time.”
For those wondering what Arenas’ game looks like, just think of a taller, longer Jamal Crawford. Crawford lasted two decades in the NBA as a walk-on bucket and annual Sixth Man of the Year candidate, winning the award three times and scoring over 50 points in a game on four separate occasions.
Obviously, Arenas is two years away from his major college debut and at least three years away from his NBA debut. A lot will change in his game between now and then. But if he had to be compared to a player based on his current skill set, it would be Crawford and Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, he admits that these comparisons are based on what he’s heard, not how he sees himself.
“I’ve been told — especially when I was younger — that I play like Jamal Crawford,” Arenas says. “I’ve heard Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) a little bit. Honestly, to tell you, I really don’t know. For me, if I see something and I like it, I’ll use it. It’s not like I plan to use it, it just happens. If I see it once — like if I’m at 24 Hour Fitness — I see that someone has done it, I’ll try it in-game to make it work. That’s the kind of person I am. My dad will say, ‘Hey, come see this.’ We see something, work on it and I’ll put it in the game.”
Arenas, who averaged 33.0 points during his sophomore campaign and 30.3 points per game his freshman year, says he has no preferences when it comes to schools based on geographic region. He says just because he plays on the West Coast doesn’t mean he’ll choose a school on that side of the country — he’ll choose based on the best fit.
And while he’s considered a fine scorer for his age, Arenas has learned to never settle for his game. It’s something his father and other NBA players — he’s faced off against Kevin Durant and admits he’s the toughest player he’s ever played against — such as Danny Green have advised him even when he’s coming off a huge scoring play of goals.
“You always want to see more,” Arenas says of what Green and NBA players have advised him. “If you can’t see it right now, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. I had one of the spots on these and he made me look back at him. How do you think he did? Like yeah, I won. But it’s like, how did he win? Have you officially won? Did you win unofficially? what was he doing You have to really look back on that. Then I really sat there again and was like, OK, I could have done this, I could have done that.
Even though Arenas is in high school, the NIL has exploded to the point where even student-athletes his age are making money. The 16-year-old says he has an ongoing deal with Panini – the sports trading card company – and is “looking” at deals at the moment, but he’s not really focused on that.
“I have a deal with Panini, I’m looking at deals right now,” says Arenas. “There’s only one, and then I’m not too worried about the deals, whether they get done or not.” Getting deals like this is just fun as a kid. But even with deals like that come life lessons, like I really need to start maturing, I really need to start thinking about certain things, thinking about later in life.”
Arenas doubles down on not putting too much value on the NIL — his valuation is $720K, the 22nd highest of any high school basketball star — and says the money will be there in the league and in life.
“With NIL, it’s just a learning experience so you’re ready for something,” Arenas says. “I know there’s a lot of money in the league and a lot of money out there in life. The league is just the beginning and then your life branches out. You play in the league, you get paid, OK, I play in the league, I want to get into business. I never looked at the league just as the league. I looked at it, how much can I really do with what I get and what I do and what I have.”
We’ll see where Arenas eventually takes his talent and how his game develops over the years. But it’s clear that he could be the next great basketball star in the coming years. Despite his young age, he is aware of his own flaws and shortcomings and is not satisfied with his current game — he is looking to get better and grow before he enters college and turns pro.