Carlos Arroyo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Carlos Arroyo

Arroyo in 2022
Personal information
Born	(1979-07-30) July 30, 1979 (age 46) Fajardo, Puerto Rico
High school	Colegio Apostol de Fajardo
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College	FIU (1997–2001)
NBA Draft	2001 / Undrafted
Pro career	2001–2019
Career history
1996-1997	Cariduros de Fajardo
1998–2003	Cangrejeros de Santurce
2001–2002	Toronto Raptors
2002	Denver Nuggets
2002	TAU Cerámica
2002–2005	Utah Jazz
2005–2006	Detroit Pistons
2006–2008	Orlando Magic
2008–2009	Maccabi Tel Aviv
2009–2011	Miami Heat
2011	Boston Celtics
2011–2012	Beşiktaş
2013–2015	Galatasaray
2015	Cangrejeros de Santurce
2015–2016	FC Barcelona
2016–2017	Leones de Ponce
2017–2019	Cariduros de Fajardo
Career highlights and awards
FIBA Americas League Ideal Quintet (2017) Israeli League Finals MVP (2009) Israeli League champion (2009) Israeli League Assists Leader (2009) Turkish Cup winner (2012) Turkish Super League Finals MVP (2012) EuroChallenge champion (2012) 2× Turkish Super League champion (2012, 2013) BSL All-Star MVP (2015) Spanish Supercup winner (2015) Centrobasket MVP (2010) 5× BSN champion (1998–2001, 2003) BSN Finals MVP (2003) BSN All-Star MVP (2017) BSN Rookie of the Year (1996) No. 30 retired by FIU Panthers No. 7 retired by Cangrejeros de Santurce No. 7 retired by Puerto Rico National Team
Medals Men's basketball Representing  Puerto Rico FIBA AmeriCup Silver 2009 Puerto Rico Silver 2013 Venezuela Bronze 2003 Puerto Rico Bronze 2007 Las Vegas Pan American Games Gold 2011 Mexico Bronze 2003 Dominican Republic Centrobasket Gold 2003 Mexico Gold 2008 Mexico Gold 2010 Dominican Republic Bronze 2006 Panama Central American and Caribbean Games Gold 2010 Puerto Rico FIBA CBC Championship Gold 2007 Puerto Rico

Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez (born July 30, 1979) is a former professional basketball player from Puerto Rico. He played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). These teams included the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics.

In the 2008–09 season, Carlos played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. He helped them win the league championship. He was also named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the finals. He also led the Israeli Premier League in assists that year. Carlos also played professionally in Puerto Rico, Spain, and Turkey.

Arroyo was a key player for the senior Puerto Rican national basketball team. He helped them defeat the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. He also played for Puerto Rico at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. In May 2019, Carlos joined Trilogy in the Big3 league. This is a 3-on-3 basketball league started by rapper Ice Cube. He played for one season, then focused on his music career. He later released the popular song "Baila Reggaeton."

Early Life and School

Carlos Arroyo was born and grew up in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. He has an identical twin brother named Alberto. Carlos is also a cousin of the famous actor Benicio del Toro.

He finished high school at Colegio Santiago Apostol in Fajardo. For his junior year of high school, Carlos went to Brookwood School in Thomasville, Georgia. There, he scored almost 30 points and made 10 assists per game.

College Basketball Career

Carlos Arroyo went to Florida International University (FIU) from 1998 to 2001. He played for the school's team, the Golden Panthers. He played all four years and earned a letter. He set several team records during his time there.

Carlos became the all-time leader in assists for FIU. He also set the record for most assists in a single season with 459. He is the only player at FIU to score more than 600 points in one season. Overall, he is the second-highest scorer for FIU. He scored 1,600 points in 100 games. He averaged 16.0 points and 4.6 assists per game. Carlos was chosen for the Sun Belt Conference's All-Star team twice. On January 5, 2007, FIU honored Carlos by retiring his jersey number (30). This showed how important he was to the team.

Professional Basketball Journey

Starting His Career

Carlos Arroyo began playing professional basketball in Puerto Rico when he was 17. He joined the Cariduros de Fajardo in 1996. In his first season, he averaged 10.9 points per game. He shot 52% from the field. The next year, his numbers improved to 17 points and 5.5 assists per game. He also shot 42% from the 3-point line that season.

The following year, he played for the Cangrejeros de Santurce. There, he played alongside José Ortiz, a player for the Puerto Rican national team. From 1998 to 2001, the Cangrejeros won four national titles in a row. They won five championships in six years, including another in 2003.

First Time in the NBA (2001–2008)

After college, Carlos signed with the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors for the 2001–02 NBA season. He was released in January 2002. He then played briefly in Spain for TAU Cerámica. In March 2002, the Denver Nuggets signed him. He played limited minutes with these teams. He played 17 games with the Raptors and 20 with the Nuggets. He averaged only 9.7 minutes per game in his first NBA season.

Playing for the Utah Jazz

Carlos joined the Utah Jazz for the 2002-03 NBA season. He did not play much at first. He was the third-string point guard behind John Stockton and Mark Jackson. However, Carlos learned a lot from them.

Stockton retired after the season, and Jackson left the team. This made Carlos the starting point guard for the 2003–04 season. Many people thought the Jazz would have a very bad season. But the team worked together and played well. With Carlos leading, Utah finished with a good 42–40 record. They just missed the playoffs. Carlos had his best season, averaging 12.6 points and 5.0 assists per game. He scored a career-high 30 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 14. This was the second-highest score ever for a Puerto Rican player in the NBA.

Time with the Detroit Pistons

During the 2004-05 NBA season with the Jazz, Carlos had some disagreements with his coach, Jerry Sloan. He eventually played less. In January 2005, Carlos was traded to the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons sent Elden Campbell and a future draft pick to the Jazz.

With the Pistons, Carlos almost won an NBA championship. The Pistons played against the San Antonio Spurs in the finals. The Spurs won the series in seven games. Carlos's playing time was much less with coach Larry Brown.

Later, with coach Flip Saunders, Carlos got more playing time. He often led the team in assists even with fewer minutes. But his playing time went down again as the season continued. On January 11, 2006, Carlos was suspended for one game. This happened after he made contact with an official during a game.

Joining the Orlando Magic

On February 15, 2006, Carlos was traded to the Orlando Magic. He went with Darko Miličić. In return, the Pistons received Kelvin Cato and a future draft pick.

Carlos joining the Magic helped the team play much better. They finished the 2005–2006 season with a 12–3 record. They almost made the playoffs. During this time, the team had an eight-game winning streak. They beat strong teams like the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. Carlos averaged 10.8 points and 2.8 assists per game off the bench. These were big improvements from his time with the Pistons. He scored a season-high 21 points against the Phoenix Suns on March 3, 2006.

Carlos started the 2006–07 season as the backup point guard. He was later moved down by coach Brian Hill. But he earned his backup spot back later in the season.

The Orlando Magic started the 2007–08 season with a new coach, Stan Van Gundy. Carlos was again the backup point guard. On November 28, 2007, he had a career-high 14 assists against the Seattle SuperSonics. On December 29, 2007, Carlos became the starting point guard. This happened after Jameer Nelson had a tough time scoring. With Carlos starting, the team had fewer turnovers. Carlos averaged double digits in points and had many assists in these games.

However, Carlos's playing time became limited again in February 2008. Coach Van Gundy said he preferred Keyon Dooling as the backup. Due to injuries to both Nelson and Dooling, Carlos started again on March 1. He scored 13 points and had 8 assists in 41 minutes. After the 2007–2008 NBA season, Carlos became a free agent. He said he was interested in returning to Orlando. He was also open to offers from the New York Knicks and Miami Heat.

Playing for Maccabi (2008–2009)

In the summer of 2008, Carlos signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. This is a strong team in the Israeli League. He had spent the previous six years in the NBA. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he helped Maccabi win the Israeli League. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the league's finals. In Israel, he averaged 15.3 points in 31 minutes per game.

Back to the NBA (2009–2011)

With the Miami Heat

Arroyo with the Miami Heat in 2010

On October 11, 2009, Carlos signed a one-year contract with the Miami Heat. He already lived in Pinecrest, Florida. His contract was guaranteed for the whole year later in the season.

Carlos shared point guard duties with Mario Chalmers at the start of the season. On January 7, 2010, the Heat signed veteran player Rafer Alston. This sent Carlos to the bench. However, Alston was suspended later. In early March, Carlos returned to the starting lineup. For the last two months of the season, Carlos averaged 9 points and 4.5 assists per game. He had a great assist-to-turnover ratio, second only to Chris Paul. Carlos averaged 6.8 points and 2.2 assists per game in the playoffs. The Heat lost to the Boston Celtics in 5 games.

After the season, Carlos became a free agent. But on July 21, 2010, he agreed to stay with the Heat for the 2010–11 season. He started the season as the team's point guard. With LeBron James joining the team, Carlos had fewer ball-handling duties. Coach Erik Spoelstra encouraged him to shoot more. On December 6, 2010, Carlos had a perfect shooting game. He scored 18 points, his most in two years.

On January 22, 2011, coach Spoelstra replaced Carlos with Mario Chalmers as the starting point guard. On March 1, 2011, the Heat released Carlos. This was to make room for another player, Mike Bibby. Carlos started 42 games for the Heat that season. He averaged 5.6 points and 2 assists per game. He also improved his 3-point shooting to a career-best 43.8%.

Playing for the Boston Celtics

Arroyo with the Boston Celtics in 2011

On March 6, 2011, Carlos signed a contract with the Boston Celtics for the rest of the season. The contract was for $1.2 million. Carlos shared his excitement on Twitter.

Carlos played his first game with the Celtics on March 9, 2011. It was a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers. He scored 4 points, had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 15 minutes. Coach Doc Rivers praised Carlos's performance. Celtics stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce also welcomed him. However, his playing time decreased after Delonte West returned from injury.

Carlos was not active for the first round of the playoffs. But he was activated for the second-round series against his former team, the Miami Heat. Coach Rivers thought Carlos could help the team. However, Carlos did not play in the series. The Celtics were eliminated in five games.

Carlos's last NBA game was on April 13, 2011. He started at point guard for the Celtics. They won 112–102 against the New York Knicks. He had 6 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds.

Back to Europe (2011–2016)

Beşiktaş Milangaz

On December 22, 2011, Carlos signed a deal with the Turkish club Beşiktaş Milangaz. His first game was on December 31, 2011. He scored nine points, had 5 rebounds, and three assists. His team won 83–76. After only four weeks, Carlos was invited to play in the league All-Star game. He scored 13 points and had 13 assists. He also made a last-second three-point basket to win the game.

Carlos led his team to win the Turkish Basketball Cup title. He averaged 14 points and 4.5 assists per game. He shot 47% from three-point range. He then helped his team win the EuroChallenge. In June 2012, Carlos led his team to win the championship of the Turkish Super League. He was named the Turkish Super League Finals MVP.

Galatasaray

Arroyo with Galatarasaray in 2013

In January 2013, Carlos signed with Galatasaray Medical Park in Turkey. On February 25, Carlos scored 15 points and had 7 assists in a win. On March 26, 2013, Carlos played against his old team, Beşiktaş. He led Galatasaray to a 76–72 victory. Carlos was the top scorer for his team with 17 points.

On June 15, 2013, Carlos and Galatasaray won the Turkish Super League championship. This was Carlos's second championship in the league. Galatasaray had only lost one game since Carlos joined in January. The next month, Carlos signed again with Galatasaray. In June 2014, Carlos led the team to another league final. He was also chosen as the team captain.

On August 14, 2014, Galatasaray signed Carlos again for the 2014–15 season. He averaged 15.7 points and 5.1 assists per game. He was chosen for the Turkish Basketball Super League All-Star Game. Carlos finished the game with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 22 assists. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.

On March 2, 2015, Carlos left Galatasaray. This was because he had not been paid his salaries.

Back to Puerto Rico (2015)

On March 16, 2015, Carlos returned to Puerto Rico. He played for the Cangrejeros de Santurce. He averaged 17.4 points in 39 games that season.

Back to Europe (2015–2016)

FC Barcelona Lassa

On July 24, 2015, Carlos signed a one-year deal with the Spanish club FC Barcelona Lassa.

Big3 League

On February 11, 2019, it was announced that Carlos Arroyo joined season 3 of the BIG3 league.

National Team Career

Carlos Arroyo was known as one of the best international point guards. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Carlos carried the flag for Puerto Rico. He also led the Puerto Rican national team. He averaged 18 points per game. He led them to a 92–73 victory over the United States. Carlos scored 25 points, had 7 assists, and 4 steals in that game. He was chosen for the All-Olympic Team.

During the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Carlos averaged 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game. He tied for fourth in points per game with his teammate Larry Ayuso. Carlos played at the 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He could not play in the semifinals and finals due to a leg injury.

At the 2010 CentroBasket, Carlos played as a shooting guard. Barea became the starting point guard. Puerto Rico won the gold medal. Carlos averaged 6.3 assists per game. He led the tournament in points per game with 19.3. He was chosen for the tournament's All-Star Team. He was also named the event's Most Valuable Player. Carlos chose not to play for the team in the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship.

On July 9, 2016, Carlos announced he was retiring from playing for the Puerto Rican national team. He had played with them for fifteen years.

In June 2021, Carlos Arroyo was named general manager of the Puerto Rican national team. On July 7, 2024, Puerto Rico qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics. They defeated Italy and Lithuania in qualifying tournaments.

Basketball Statistics

Correct as of March 2, 2015

NBA

Regular Season

="text-align:left;"| 2005–06

Playoffs

EuroLeague

Domestic Leagues

Music Career

Carlos Arroyo was interested in reggaeton music. He started his own music studio and record label called Arroyo Hit Music. He began a mini-music career in 2009. He released two songs: "Oculto Secreto" in 2009 and "Se Va Conmigo" in 2010. The second song featured Puerto Rican artist Yomo. Later, he made a remix of "Se Va Conmigo" with Ivy Queen, known as the "Queen of Reggaeton." The original song with Yomo became popular on several Billboard charts.

Carlos also had his own theme music at the American Airlines Arena. It was "Fiesta de Pilito" by El Gran Combo. Carlos worked with Probably Pablo on the song "Imaginarme."

In March 2020, Carlos released the song "Baila Reggaeton." It featured the popular duo Zion & Lennox. The song became a worldwide hit. Carlos quickly became "one of the biggest reggaeton stars in the world."

Personal Life

After finishing college, Carlos Arroyo made his home in Florida. This was because it was close to Puerto Rico. He met his wife, Xiomara Escobar, there. They have three children: Gabriella (born 2005), Daniela (born 2010), and Carlos Adrián (born 2012). On November 2, 2007, Carlos missed two games with the Orlando Magic. He had to visit Puerto Rico because his daughter was sick with pneumonia. Carlos's grandmother had cancer. This made him want to help children with the same condition. His oldest daughter, Gabriella, joined the University of Dayton volleyball team in 2022.

Songs Released

Singles

• 2009: "Oculto Secreto"
• 2010: "Se Va Conmigo" (feat. Yomo)
• 2010: "Se Va Conmigo" (Remix) (Feat. Ivy Queen)
• 2011: "Bailemos En La Luna"
• 2011: "Imaginarme" (Probably Pablo feat. Carlos Arroyo)
• 2011: "Estamos Ready" (Ali feat. Carlos Arroyo)
• 2020: "Bailamos Reggaetón" (feat. (Zion & Lennox)
• 2020: "Aruba" (feat. (Farruko)
• 2020: "Heroe" (feat. (Rauw Alejandro)

See Also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rico at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• Puerto Rico national basketball team