Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez (born July 30, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player.
He played in the National Basketball Association with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics.
Arroyo was a member of the senior Puerto Rican national basketball team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
[1] He played in that league for one season, and then turned his focus to music, releasing the international hit song, "Baila Reggaeton".
[10] The next year, he played for the Cangrejeros de Santurce, where he was a teammate of then starting center of the Puerto Rican national basketball team, José Ortiz.
[11] After graduating from FIU, Arroyo was signed by the National Basketball Association's Toronto Raptors for the 2001–02 NBA season, but was released in January 2002.
He then played briefly in the Spanish ACB League with TAU Cerámica before being signed by the Denver Nuggets in March of the same year.
[12] He saw limited action with those two teams, playing seventeen games with the Raptors and twenty with the Nuggets before his initial NBA season was over.
With the retirement of Stockton and the subsequent departure of Karl Malone to the Los Angeles Lakers, it was expected that the Jazz would suffer through a miserable season and sink to the bottom of the league.
[13] He scored a career-high 30 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 14,[18] the 2nd highest single-game total ever for a Puerto Rican player in the NBA.
[23] Arroyo's playing time was reduced significantly due to Larry Brown's tight defensive style.
[24] On February 15, 2006, Arroyo was dealt (along with Darko Miličić) from Detroit to the Orlando Magic, in exchange for Kelvin Cato and a future first-round draft choice.
[25] The addition of Arroyo and Miličić, plus the return of point guard Jameer Nelson from the injured list, sparked a resurgence of the Magic in the last quarter of the 2005–2006 season, as they finished with a 12–3 run, nearly reaching the playoffs.
[26] During the stretch run, Arroyo averaged 22.1 MPG, 10.8 PPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.2 RPG off the bench, which earned him the back-up point guard position behind Nelson.
[30] The Orlando Magic started the 2007–08 season with new coach Stan Van Gundy, and Arroyo was again assigned backup point-guard responsibilities.
[33] This led to Van Gundy making several references to the team's performance and leading to Arroyo's inclusion in the starting lineup.
[37] In an interview with Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día, coach Van Gundy said that he preferred Keyon Dooling at back-up point guard.
[38] Due to injuries to both Nelson and Dooling, Arroyo was re-inserted into the starting lineup that day and ended up with 13 points and 8 assists in 41 minutes.
[39] When interviewed, Arroyo noted that he was interested in returning to Orlando, but that he was also open to hearing offers from the New York Knicks and Miami Heat.
[40] In the summer of 2008, Arroyo signed a three-year contract with the Israeli League powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv after having spent the previous 6 years in the NBA.
[48][49][50] On December 6, 2010, Arroyo had a perfect game shooting from the field (6–6 FG, 2–2 FT, 2–2 3PT), finishing with 18 points, 2 rebounds, and only 1 turnover.
[51] On January 22, 2011, coach Spoelstra replaced Arroyo as the Miami Heat starting point guard with Mario Chalmers.
[52] On March 1, 2011, the Heat released Arroyo in an effort to clear a roster spot for the expected addition of free-agent guard Mike Bibby.
During the first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Arroyo remained inactive as Rivers decided to keep Troy Murphy on the active roster because of his size.
Arroyo finished tied for fourth in PPG during the 2006 FIBA World Championship with fellow Puerto Rican teammate Larry Ayuso.
Arroyo played at the 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but wasn't able to compete in the semifinals and finals due to a leg injury.
[86] Puerto Rico won its group, defeating Panama in semifinals, and the Dominican Republic in the final, to win the gold medal.
On July 9, 2016, Arroyo announced his retirement as a player from the Puerto Rican national team, after fifteen years of playing with them.
[92][93][94] Carlos Arroyo also had his own theme music accompaniment at American Airlines Arena, namely El Gran Combo's "Fiesta de Pilito".
[95][96][97][98] On November 2, 2007, Arroyo was forced to miss two games with the Orlando Magic when he had to make an emergency visit to Puerto Rico because his daughter was suffering from pneumonia.