Arenas had dubbed this season “The Takeover,” and for a while he was as good as his word. He dropped 60 on the Los Angeles Lakers, 54 on Phoenix and was named Eastern Conference player of the month for December. He leads the NBA with 35 30-point games.

The combined success of Arenas and the Wizards, along with his flamboyant self-marketing savvy, propelled him into another level of stardom. He made the All-Star game for the third consecutive year, but this was the first time he was voted by the fans as a starter.

Arenas started every game for the Wizards until Wednesday night, when he was benched at the opening tip-off for being late for a shootaround earlier in the day.

Arenas entered late in the first quarter and was injured less than two minutes later, when Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace inadvertently crashed into Arenas after an off-balance reverse layup. Arenas’ knee bent the wrong way, much like that of a quarterback who has been hit low by a rushing lineman.

“Once he found out the severity of the injury, it kind of shellshocked him a little bit,” Jamison said. “It’s hard because of the type of year he was having, and the playoffs were coming upon us and we all know Gilbert — he loves the playoffs and the limelight and things like that.”

It’s the first significant injury for Arenas since an abdominal strain sidelined him for 27 games during the 2003-04 season. He missed only two games each of the last two seasons.

Arenas finishes the regular season with 2,105 points, becoming the franchise’s first player since Walt Bellamy to score more than 2,000 points in three consecutive seasons.

“For our players right now, this could be a shining moment,” Jordan said. “It’s a shining moment for the coaches also. When your two best players are down, you’re coaching a team now that has to move forward.”

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