Born in New York and an American by birth, Blatche became a naturalized citizen of the Philippines in June 2014, enabling him to join the country's national basketball team.

[5] He declared for the 2005 NBA draft out of high school, and while originally thought of as a first-round prospect, he slipped to the second round and was taken by the Washington Wizards with the 49th overall pick.

[6][7] He recovered successfully[6] and played his first game with Washington versus Seattle on November 11, 2005, scoring five points in a 137–96 Wizards victory.

[6][9] During the 2007–08 season, Blatche continued showing improvement, and with center Etan Thomas out with a season-ending heart condition, his minutes increased.

Arenas was being investigated for a prior incident involving guns in the Wizards' locker room, but made light of the accusations by pointing his finger at his teammates, as if he were shooting them.

Blatche just missed a triple-double as he had 20 points, a career-high 13 assists, nine rebounds and two steals in the Wizards' 109–99 victory over the New Jersey Nets on April 4.

On March 20, 2012, the Wizards announced that they were benching Blatche indefinitely due to lack of conditioning,[13] and on July 16, he was waived via the amnesty clause.

[21] Blatche played in all 82 regular season games in 2012–13, averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds and set a career high in field goal percentage (51.2%).

[22] In December 2013, starting center Brook Lopez went down with a season-ending foot injury, increasing Blatche's minutes.

[24] On September 20, 2014, Blatche signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.

[30] He returned to action in late December and went on to lead Xinjiang to the CBA Finals, where they swept the series against the Guangdong Southern Tigers 4–0 to claim the championship.

Blatche played in the 2020 Dubai Basketball International Championship with non-league Philippine-based team Mighty Sports.

[34] Blatche joined Strong Group Athletics (SGA), another non-league Philippine-based side, for the Dubai International Basketball Championship in 2024.

[36] In January 2014, Blatche was asked by the Gilas Pilipinas to take part as a naturalized player for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

[37] On June 11, 2014, Blatche officially became a Filipino citizen upon the signing of Republic Act 10636 by Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.

[38][39] He was later disqualified to play in the 2014 Asian Games due to eligibility issues cited by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), as he lacked the required three-year residency in the Philippines.

[46] Blatche was expected to suit up for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup but pulled out due to security concerns over the militant situation in the host country Lebanon.

[49] In January 2020, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas bared that they are "moving on" from Blatche, and is looking for another naturalized player for the national team.

[50] On the Sunday morning of September 25, 2005, three months after the Wizards selected him with the 49th overall pick in the NBA draft, Blatche was shot in an attempted carjacking that took place near his home in Alexandria, Virginia.