After Crushing Dwyane Wade and Team USA, Puerto Rican Legend Was ?Denied Entry? on Rival?s NBA Turf

Dwyane Wade is synonymous with the Miami Heat. But during his time on the Heat, there have been many guards on the team that have played under him. A name that many might not remember is Carlos Arroyo. Arroyo was not able to shine much during his time in the NBA, but we will always remember him for handing Team USA their biggest loss in Olympic history.

In a recent episode of The Knuckleheads podcast, the special guest was Carlos Arroyo. While talking about his life, Arroyo revealed the truth behind earning his way back to having a locker room on a team, although he was a 6-year veteran in the NBA.

Joining the Miami Heat is not easy

Carlos Arroyo played in the NBA from 2001?2011. After spending his first six years in the NBA, in 2008 he took his talents to Israel and play for the Maccabi Tel Aviv. The next year, in 2009, he made his way back to the NBA. But his journey back to the league was tough.

During his conversation with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, Arroyo was asked about getting the call from the Miami Heat. Arroyo revealed that he was already in Miami at the time. He was playing in the local park when he got the call from Pat Riley.

Riley asked him if Arroyo would be willing to play for the team. Arroyo was excited to hear it, but he still had not made the team. He had to clear the physical examination and make the final team before being a part of the roster.

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Arroyo said, “When I got to Miami, I get there and put my stuff and I’m like walking through the training room and whatever and I put my bags in the locker. And the equipment manager was like, what are you doing?… You in the showers till you make the team.“

He was denied a place in the team’s locker room until he had made the final roster. It was tough for Arroyo to find his way back after playing in the NBA for six years already. He felt like he had to start everything all over again. But he was resilient, faced the adversities, and eventually made the team.

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Carlos Arroyo made history against Dwyane Wade

In the past 40 years, the only time Team USA failed to win gold in basketball at the Olympics was in 2004. The team got off to a rocky start. With young players like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James on the team, you would hope the team would do well. But Team USA was handed their biggest loss ever in the Olympics.

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Early in the group stage, the USA faced off against Puerto Rico. Although many saw it as an easy win for the USA, the story that unfolded that day was different. Puerto Rico won with a score of 92-73. The leading scorer of the game was Carlos Arroyo, who scored 24 points. The leading scorers for the USA were Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson, who both had 15 points each. Dwyane Wade scored 10 in the loss.

Although Arroyo has not found great success in the NBA, he will always be remembered for the upsetting victory he had over Team USA on the biggest stage.

What do you think of Carlos Arroyo’s story of making his way back to the NBA? Let us know in the comments!