Nine-year NBA veteran and international basketball legend Carlos Arroyo has long possessed an incredible ability to accomplish two things at once: represent his native land of Puerto Rico to the absolute fullest while also always maintaining the hunger to compete at the highest levels in basketball. And in case you havent heard, as the new co-owner of Bayamn in Puerto Ricos high-level pro league the BSN (Balencesto Superior Nacional), hes doing it again.
In high school, Arroyo pushed his family, which had connections through part ownership of the BSN team that used to exist in their hometown of Fajardo, to let him go play in America. Arroyo played one season at Brookwood HS in Thomasville, GA, where he averaged nearly 30 ppg and earned what had eluded him during his time in PRUS college scholarship offers.
After the one year in Georgia, Arroyo began his semi-professional basketball career at the age of 17, playing with the aforementioned Fajardo team. After graduating from high school back in PR, he spent four years playing almost year-roundduring the school year he was a star point guard at DI Florida International in Miami, and during the summer he was playing against grown men in the BSN. In 1998, Arroyo joined the Cangrejeros de Santurce, a team that dominated the storied BSN (recognize: the league has been around since 1929 and produced other NBA players such as Butch Lee, Jos Ortiz and JJ Barea) during his tenure. With Arroyo as their electrifying lead guard, the Cangrejeros won four straight BSN titles from 1998-2001 and added another championship in 2003. This is when SLAM and I first crossed paths with CA. I happened to attend Game 7 of the 2000 BSN Finals. Id never heard of Arroyo when I walked into the Roberto Clemente Coliseum that night; by halftime, I knew Id never forget him. SLAM took my word on how nice he was and let me write an In Your Face story on the then-FIU senior. He and I stayed in touch, reconnecting for a full feature in SLAM 84 when he was the starting PG on the Jazz and right through his decade-long career in the League and beyond.
CAs best season in the L came in 0304 with the Jazz, when he started all 71 games he appeared in and averaged a career-high 12.6 points and 5.0 assists per game. He followed up that regular season with an Olympic performance for the ages. In the opening game for both the US and Puerto Rico in the 2004 Athens Games, the global superpower and its small island commonwealth faced off and PR did the impossible, blowing out big brother, 92-73. Arroyo led the way with 24 points, 7 assists, 4 steals and one epic jersey pop. While he never again matched those 04 heights in the NBA, he played key roles on a number of NBA teams, including the 05 championship runner-up Pistons and the first LeBron/Bosh/Wade Heat team in 10-11. He also played for big-time Euro teams such as Maccabi Tel Aviv and Galatasaray and returned to Santurce in 2015.
While dabbling in music (his 2020 track Baila Reggaeton with Zion & Lennox is one of several certified hits hes sung on) and acting (Sgt. Major Perez inThe Greatest Beer Run Ever) Arroyo kept his eyes on the basketball leadership prize by becoming general manager of the Puerto Rico Mens National Team in 2021. I think Ive proven myself the last few years with the national team, making so many roster moves and succeeding, says Arroyo today. What we did last year with the Olympics, to be able to go back for the first time in 20 years, with me as the GM, and the last first time I was a player.
The peripatetic Arroyo, who has accomplished so much at the age of 45, is now onto his latest challenge, which is why hes back in SLAMs pages. Last November, Arroyo and his partner, majority owner Eric Duars, took over the most storied franchise in the BSN: the 16-time champion Vaqueros de Bayamn (Bayamn Cowboys). Wed been in conversations about buying the team for about a year, recalls Arroyo over Zoom after a recent Vaqueros practice. The previous owner was Yadier Molinathe catcher from the Cardinals! He approached me about finding the right person to take over the team and he wanted someone who was loyal to the sport and the franchise and was business savvy at the same time. So he wanted me to help him find that right person. I had a great relationship with Eric Duars, a good friend of mine for many years, entrepreneur, business savvy, loves the game. But hes mainly in the music business, he represents a bunch of artists in the industry. We felt like he was the right guy. And the first thing Eric told me was,Im not doing this without you.At the time I was traveling a lot with the national team, recruiting new guys, had so many qualifiers, the Olympics coming up, and I was extremely busy. I met with the President of the Federation and told him,Look, I might have this opportunity, and he was like,Go ahead and do it.As soon as I got his blessing, I managed to find the time. And its been great, man. Its also been alotof work. Changing everything. But were here now and the season has started and its like [exhales] now we can breathe.
Arroyo quickly extended the contract of long-time Vaquero mainstay Javier Mojica and hired his former teammate on the national team Christian Dalmau to be head coach. But Arroyo was just getting started. Knowing that league rules allowed him to bring in three refuerzos, (reinforcements, ie, players with no claims to Puerto Rican residency) he tapped his breadth of connections and aimed high. Behold the Vaqueros big three: Danilo Gallinari, JaVale McGee and Chris Duarte.
Gallinari is, of course, the smooth shooting, 14-year NBA vet out of Italy who was a Knick lottery pick in 08, a high-teen ppg scorer for much of the 2010s and who was playing playoff minutes for the Bucks as recently as the 2024 playoffs. Yes, the Italian National Team stalwart is now balling in Bayamn. After we played here in the Olympic qualifying tournament last summer, Carlos and I stayed in touch, Gallo explains. We were talking about life in general. He found out I was moving to Miami and I ended up living right near him, almost like neighbors. We hung out a couple times there, and then I was waiting for an NBA callwhich didnt come. He went through a similar phase in his career. So we were just exchanging thoughts about my situation. He brought up this opportunity to me to be part of the Vaquerosthats when slowly things started to get real. And now were here.
Through seven games of the 44-game regular season, here is 17.7 ppg for the 6-1, first-place Vaqueros, who have their eyes on a title and their rabid fan base buzzing.
The fans here are very passionate, very intense, says the 37-year-old McGee, who has played 909 regular-season games in his NBA career (including 46 just last season with the Kings) and won three championships. I was just staying in shape, waiting for that NBA call. Carlos hit me up and presented me with this opportunity to come to Bayamn and play in front of this great crowd and great people. I just decided to take the deal and come out and have a blast. It feels good to be out there, back on the court, playing some competitive basketball, playing free.
McGee is getting free to the tune of 18.3 points (on 56 percent shooting) and 9.6 rebounds per game, showcasing an offensively effective side of his game the role-centric NBA didnt encourage the rim-running and protecting McGee to execute.
The last of the three big imports Arroyo signed, Duarte, is perhaps the most unique. Gallinari and McGee may be particularly well accomplished, but they fit the mold of many ex-NBAers who have laced up their kicks in the BSN in that they are at the tail end of their careers. In many ways, Duartes should just be starting. A native of the Dominican Republic who transferred to the University of Oregon halfway through his college career and was a 2021 lottery pick by the Pacers, the 6-5 guard was second-team All-Rookie in 2022 and was getting minutes with the Bullsthis season. League rosters are a confusing puzzle only a teams GM will ever fully understand, and when the Bulls let him go in February, Duarte didnt love the offers he was getting. And he loved the new man in charge of a team he knows well thanks to having a wife from Bayamn. Every Latino should know who Carlos Arroyo is. He was agreatplayer. So for sure I knew who he was, explains Duarte, who scored 32 points in a recent dub. When I got to the League, we exchanged words, sometimes we met up a little bit and talked. Thats how our relationship started. Then when I got waived, he hit me up and offered me a job here. At the moment I was thinking about something else, but our relationship was intact and I told him,If anything changes, Ill get back to you.And thats exactly what happened. Im a four-year vet, Ive done a lot in the NBA, I feel like I deserve a little bit more than [the two-way offers] I was getting. So Im glad Im here to stay active, work on my game, play, see what happens in the summer.
Gushes Arroyo, Im extremely honored to be here and be the one making the decisions as far as the roster, building everything from scratch. New coaching staff, new trainers, new everything. Weve done a great job that we can feel proud of. Now its time for the guys to do it on the court. As you know, names dont win championships. But theyre building something. The thing I love about JaVale, Gallinari and Duartethey dont come over here acting like they dont need to prove themselves. NoIm an NBA championorIm a huge international star.Theyre engaging with their teammates, practicing hard, being great leaders. That gives me a sense of peace.
Arroyos journey from star player to influential manager is a testament to his passion for basketball and dedication to Puerto Rico. Whether leading on the court or behind the scenes, Arroyo remains an inspiring figure who embodies excellence and resilience. As he works tirelessly to restore the Vaqueros championship legacy and further elevate Puerto Ricos national program, his impact on the game will endure onla islafor generations.
But Carlos being Carlos, hed take another shot at the NBA, too. I would love too, man, he says. I know the NBA, their eyes are not on FIBA, especially national teams, because its just different. You dont deal with budgets, salary caps and all that stuff. Butthis, this is a real test for me, being an owner, just structuring everything, what a president should do, what a GM should do. Im doing all that stuff as well. Im still learning, but I think Im very savvy when it comes to putting pieces together and making sure they will work. Im praying everything works out and we can come up with a championship our first year here. Yeah, of course. I would love to [work a big position in an NBA front office].
Given all Arroyos done in life so far, who would doubt him?
