OAKLAND -- All of his life, Warriors rookie Gilbert Arenas has laughed when coaches, scouts and the so-called experts have misjudged his ability to play the game.

Arenas never has taken them seriously. Not the high school coach who thought he was too young to play varsity. Not the college coaches who thought he was too academically risky to stay eligible. Not the pro scouts who thought he was too small or too immature to play in the NBA.

Arenas has spent his entire career proving every one of those critics wrong, and now the Warriors' "other" draft pick -- the one who didn't go until the second round -- is out to prove he not only can play in the pros, he can start, too.