Trevor Anthony Ariza is a forward with the Houston Rockets, who signed him in July of 2009. Ariza has previously played for the Knicks, Magic and Lakers during his NBA career. Ariza is listed at 6-feet, 8-inches tall and 210 pounds. His last name is pronounced A-ree-za.

Born in Miami, Ariza played his high school basketball at Westchester High School in Los Angeles. As a junior, he was part of a Westchester team that featured six future NBA players and won a state championship. Ariza committed to UCLA prior to his senior season, choosing the Bruins over UNLV, USC and Florida.

Ariza was named the California State Player of the Year as a senior, leading his team to a second consecutive state title. Both Scout.com and Rivals.com ranked him as one of the Top 20 overall recruits in the Class of 2003, and the No. 5 small forward. Ariza eventually had his #4 retired by Westchester.

Trevor Ariza played only one season at UCLA, playing 25 games for the Bruins. He missed the first two weeks of the 2003-04 season with a lung problem, but returned to average 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, earning All-Pac 10 Freshman honors. Following the Bruins elimination in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Ariza chose to forgo his final three years of eligibility and enter the 2004 NBA Draft.

Trevor Ariza was selected in the second round (40th overall) by the New York Knicks in the 2004 NBA Draft. Ariza became the youngest player in Knicks history when he made his NBA debut on Nov. 3, 2004, scoring eight points in a loss to the Timberwolves. After coming off the bench for the first 38 games of his career, Ariza was inserted into the starting lineup when Herb Williams became the Knicks interim coach. Ariza started 12 of his 80 games as a rookie, finishing the season averaging 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

The next season, Ariza started 10 times in 36 games for the Knicks, but his minutes fluctuated wildly under Larry Brown. Ariza was eventually sidelined with back spasms, then traded to Orlando along with Anfernee Hardaway in exchange for Steve Francis. Ariza played 21 games for the Magic that season.

In 2006-07, Ariza averaged a career-high 8.9 PPG in 57 games, missing five games with a sore right foot and 19 games with a sprained MCL. He played 11 games for the Magic in '07-08 before being traded to the Lakers in exchange for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans on Nov. 20, 2007. Ariza averaged 5.4 PPG in 24 games with the Lakers before suffering a fractured right foot, forcing him to miss the final 44 games of the regular season. Ariza also missed the first two rounds of the 2008 playoffs, before returning in the conference finals against the Spurs. Ariza appeared in five games in the 2008 NBA Finals against the Celtics, averaging 2.6 PPG.

In his first full season with the Lakers, Ariza played 82 games for the first time in his career, starting 20 times. He matched his career high by averaging 8.9 PPG and set a career high with 1.8 APG. Ariza also averaged 1.7 steals per game in the regular season, ranking ninth in the NBA. Ariza started every game for the Lakers in the 2009 Playoffs, scoring 15 points in their title-clinching game against the Orlando Magic.

Ariza became a free agent following the Finals, and signed a five-year/$34M contract with the Houston Rockets.

Ariza's father, Kenny McClary, played basketball at the University of Florida and professionally in Australia and Venezuela. Ariza's younger brother, Tajh, died in an accident when he fell out of a hotel-room window in Venezuela, during a family trip to watch his father play.