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Guard · 2002–05

Carlos Arroyo

At Florida International he set the career assists record and had his number 30 retired. Undrafted, Arroyo reached Utah in 2002 as third point guard behind John Stockton and Mark Jackson — then, when both departed, ran the offense himself, keying a surprise 42–40 season in 2003–04 with career highs of 12.6 points and 5.0 assists. That same summer he steered Puerto Rico past the United States at the Athens Olympics.

An identical twin and a cousin of actor Benicio del Toro, he later won a championship and Finals MVP with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2009. After a BIG3 season in 2019 he turned to music, releasing the international hit 'Baila Reggaeton.'

HOW HE CAME & WENTDenver let his contract lapse and Utah signed him for 2002-03. He inherited the starting job when Stockton retired, but his role shrank the next year and on January 21, 2005 the Jazz dealt him to Detroit for Elden Campbell and a first-round pick.

Full name
Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez
Utah Jazz tenure
2002–05
Position
Guard
Born
1979, Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Height
6′1″ (185 cm)
Weight
203 lb (92 kg)
College
Florida International
Drafted
undrafted
Signature in the archive 2004-05 Fleer Tradition #59 Utah Jazz

No photograph of this signature is online yet.

With the Jazz

CARLOS ARROYO · 2002–05 · PER GAME
SEASONTEAMGMPGPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGFG%3P%FT%
2002–03UTA446.52.80.61.20.30.0.459.429.818
2003–04UTA7128.312.62.65.00.90.1.441.325.804
2004–05UTA3024.78.21.55.10.70.1.401.389.841
JAZZ TOTAL3 SEASONS14520.98.71.83.90.70.1.435.338.813

Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗  ·  Wikipedia ↗

Did you know

CARLOS ARROYO · 7 NOTES
  • He was born an identical twin, arriving alongside his brother Alberto.
  • Once he outgrew the courts in Fajardo his parents took turns driving him 45 minutes each way to San Juan.
  • He learned English from American television and spent afternoons on an outdoor court shouting Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson as he copied their moves.
  • His career-high 30 points at Minnesota in November 2003 was the second-highest single game ever by a Puerto Rican in the NBA.
  • Puerto Rico's federation named him general manager of the men's national team in 2021, and the team qualified for the 2024 Olympics.
  • In 2008 he shaved his head and beard for a photo campaign supporting children in cancer treatment at Puerto Rico's Centro Médico.
  • His role collapsed quickly: after 71 starts in 2003-04 he opened only 16 of his 30 games the following season and averaged 8.2 points.