Ronald William "Ron" Artest, Jr.
(born November 13, 1979) is an American professional basketball player who is currently with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. Artest gained a reputation as one of the league's premier defenders as he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004. He was also criticized for assaulting a fan in the Pacers–Pistons brawl.
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RON ARTEST TICKETS
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Biography
Artest was born and raised in the
Queensbridge projects in
Queens,
New York. Artest has 2 younger brothers, Isaiah and Daniel.
[1] He played high school basketball at
La Salle Academy and
college basketball at
St. John's University from 1997–1999.
[2] In 1999 he helped the Red Storm to the Elite Eight, losing to Ohio State in a classic game. He gained fame playing in some of New York City's high profile summer basketball tournaments at
Nike Pro City, Hoops in the Sun at
Orchard Beach,
Bronx,
New York and Dyckman Park at
Washington Heights, earning himself nicknames such as Tru Warrier and
The New World Order, a name he received from Randy Cruz (one of the co-founders of the Hoops In The Sun basketball league at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, New York).
As a teenager, he was teamed with
Elton Brand of the
Philadelphia 76ers and
Lamar Odom of the
Los Angeles Lakers on the same
AAU team.
[3]
Growing up in a rough neighborhood Artest claims he witnessed murder on a basketball court. "It was so competitive, they broke a leg from a table and they threw it, it went right through his heart and he died right on the court. So I'm accustomed to playing basketball really rough."
[4] [5]
Chicago Bulls
Artest was selected by the
Chicago Bulls with the 16th pick of the
1999 NBA Draft.
Artest played a total of 175 games for the Bulls over 2-1/2 years, the bulk as a starter, during which time he averaged about 12.5 points and just over 4 rebounds per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in the 1999–2000.
Midway through the 2001-02 season, Ron was traded by Chicago to the Indiana Pacers along with
Ron Mercer,
Brad Miller, and
Kevin Ollie, in exchange for
Jalen Rose,
Travis Best,
Norman Richardson, and a 2nd Round draft pick.
[6]
Indiana Pacers
Following his trade to the Pacers, Ron Artest had the best season of his professional career. In 2003–04 season he averaged 18.3 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, and 3.7 assists per game. Ron made the 2004 All-Star Game as a reserve and was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
Pacers–Pistons brawl
On November 19, 2004, Artest took center stage in arguably the most infamous brawl in professional basketball history.
The game took place in
Auburn Hills, Michigan between Artest's Pacers and the home team
Detroit Pistons. The brawl began when Artest
fouled Pistons
center Ben Wallace as Wallace was putting up a shot. Wallace, upset at being fouled hard when the game was effectively over (the Pacers led 97–82), responded by shoving Artest, leading to an
altercation near the scorer's table. Artest walked to the sideline and lay down on the scorer's table. Reacting to Wallace throwing something at Artest, Pistons fan
John Green threw a cup of beer at Artest, hitting him. Artest jumped into the front-row seats and confronted a man he incorrectly believed to be responsible which in turn erupted into a brawl between Pistons fans and several of the Pacers. Artest returned to the basketball court, and punched Pistons fan A.J. Shackleford, who was apparently taunting Artest verbally.
[7] This fight resulted in the game being stopped with less than a minute remaining. Artest teammates
Jermaine O'Neal and
Stephen Jackson were suspended indefinitely the day after the game, along with Wallace.
On
November 21, the NBA announced that Artest would be suspended for the remainder of the season (73 games and playoff), the longest non-
drug or
betting related suspension in NBA history. Eight other players (four Pacers and four Pistons) received suspensions, without pay, which ranged from one to thirty games in length. Each of the Pacers players involved were levied fines and ordered to do community service. Several fans were also charged and were banned from attending any events at the Palace for life. Artest lost approximately $7 million in salary due to the suspension.
Aftermath and trade
Early in the
2005–06 season, Artest requested a trade from the Indiana Pacers and was put on the team's inactive roster. Artest's call for a trade created a rift between him and his teammates. "We felt betrayed, a little disrespected," teammate Jermaine O'Neal said. As for their basketball relationship, O'Neal said: "The business relationship is over. That's fact." Pacers president
Larry Bird said he also felt "betrayed" and "disappointed."
[8]
On
January 24,
2006, reports from NBA sources confirmed that the
Sacramento Kings had agreed to trade
Peja Stojakovic to the Pacers for Artest. However, before the trade could be completed, many press outlets reported that Artest had informed team management that he did not want to go to Sacramento. According to Artest's agent, his original trade request was only made because he was upset when he heard rumors that the Pacers were going to trade him to Sacramento for Stojakovic early in the season. While not denying his agent's story, Artest did deny that he had rejected the trade to Sacramento, saying that he would play anywhere; hence, contradicting earlier press accounts stating Artest was holding up the trade. Given conflicting accounts, it is unclear why the trade was delayed, but it was nevertheless completed on
January 25 and Artest was officially sent to the Kings for Stojakovic.
Sacramento Kings
Though traded midseason to the Kings franchise, Artest quickly found his place on the team by providing some much needed defense.
[9] Though many feared his abrasive personality would be a problem, he worked well with his teammates and then coach
Rick Adelman. Since acquiring Artest in late January 2006, the team immediately went on a 14–5 run, the team's best run of the season. The Kings broke .500 and landed the eighth spot in the Western Conference. This prompted
ESPN to declare that "Ron Artest has breathed new life in the Sacramento Kings and enhanced their chances of reaching the playoffs for the ninth straight year."
[10] Fox Sports proclaimed, "Artest has Kings back in playoff hunt."
He was suspended for Game 2 of the team's first-round series against the
San Antonio Spurs following a flagrant foul (elbow to the head) on
Manu Ginóbili. The Kings eventually were eliminated from the playoffs in six games.
After the playoffs, Artest offered to donate his entire salary to keep teammate
Bonzi Wells with the team, who became a free agent after the
2005–06 NBA season. He even jokingly threatened to kill Wells if he did not re-sign with the Kings.
[11] Wells was later picked up by the
Houston Rockets and then traded to the
New Orleans Hornets for former
Sacramento Kings player
Bobby Jackson. Artest also offered to donate his salary to retain the services of head coach
Rick Adelman, whose contract expired after the same season. Adelman and the Kings did not agree on a contract extension so the two parted ways.
Houston Rockets
On July 29, 2008, it was reported that Artest was to be traded to the
Houston Rockets along with
Patrick Ewing, Jr. and
Sean Singletary for
Bobby Jackson, recently drafted forward
Donté Greene, a
2009 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations.
[12] The deal was made official on
August 14, due to Greene's rookie contract signing on July 14.
[13] In response to the trade,
Yao Ming was generally positive, but jokingly said that "hopefully he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands." In response, Artest said, "This is Tracy (McGrady) and Yao's team, you know. I'm not going to take it personal. I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto. That's not going to change. I'm never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don't think he's ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture."
[14]
Since then, Artest and Yao have exchanged extensive phone calls. Artest has also said, "Whatever Adelman needs me to do, whether that's come off the bench, sixth, seventh man, start, I don't even care. Whatever he needs me to do, I'm 100 percent sure it's going to work out."
[15]
On October 30, 2008, Artest received his first technical as a Houston Rocket, as he raced towards a group of Mavericks players and then quickly went to Yao Ming who bumped Josh Howard after play stopped. Artest was trying to pull Yao Ming away from the play and to the foul line, but contact was made with Maverick players. The TNT broadcast crew felt this technical was not warranted, and was based upon Artest's prior reputation as a feisty player in the league.
On April 30, 2009, Ron Artest helped the Houston Rockets advance past the first round for the first time in 11 seasons.
[16]
On May 6, 2009, Ron Artest was ejected in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers after Kobe Bryant committed what was later ruled to be a Flagrant 1 foul, for elbowing. Artest was indignant after having Kobe's forearm jabbed into his throat but finding himself called for the offensive foul. He preceded to give Bryant a piece of his mind after the play and then asked the officials to call the foul on Kobe, which resulted in an ejection by
Joey Crawford. The TNT broadcast crew felt this technical was not warranted, and was possibly due to Crawford confusing Artest's protestations that he was elbowed in the throat with a throat slashing motion, which is an automatic ejection.
On May 8, 2009, Artest was again ejected from Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter after a hard foul on Pau Gasol, who was attempting to dunk on a fast-break. Commentators and even Kobe Bryant whom had had an altercation with Artest in Game 2 in which Artest was ejected agreed the flagrant two foul and subsequent ejection was not warranted. True enough, it was determined the next day that the foul was not serious enough to warrant an ejection, and the flagrant two was downgraded.
[17]
Los Angeles Lakers
In July 2009, the
Los Angeles Lakers signed Ron Artest to a five-year deal worth about $33 million.
[18] [19] [20] Artest will wear number 37 in honor of
Michael Jackson. Jackson's
Thriller
album was at No. 1 on the charts for 37 straight weeks.
[21]
Career transactions
- June 30, 1999: Drafted 16th overall by Chicago Bulls in 1999 NBA Draft.
- February 19, 2002: Traded by Chicago along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller and Kevin Ollie to the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson and a future second-round draft pick. [22]
- January 25, 2006: Traded by Indiana to the Sacramento Kings for Peja Stojakovic. [23]
- August 21, 2008: Traded by Sacramento along with Patrick Ewing, Jr. and Sean Singletary to the Houston Rockets for Bobby Jackson, Donté Greene and a future first-round draft pick. [24]
Controversy
Artest has been a subject of frequent controversy. In his rookie season with the
Chicago Bulls, he was criticized for applying for a job at
Circuit City in order to get an employee discount.
[25] [26] He once attended a practice with the
Indiana Pacers in a bath robe.
[27] He was suspended for two games in the early
2004–05 season by Pacers
coach Rick Carlisle after he allegedly asked for a month off because he was tired from promoting an R&B album for the group Allure on his production label.
Artest had also been suspended for three games in 2003 for destroying a television camera at
Madison Square Garden, and for four games for a confrontation with
Miami Heat coach
Pat Riley in 2003.
He has also been suspended several times for
flagrant fouls.
Artest was also involved in the infamous Pistons-Pacers brawl in 2004.
Legal troubles
According to a
Placer County report obtained by the Sacramento Bee, on January 30, 2007, Animal Services officers issued a "pre-seizure" notice to Artest, on the suspicion that a dog at his home in
Loomis was not getting adequate food. On February 5, officers returned and seized Socks, a black female
Great Dane, removing her into protective custody with a local veterinarian. The seizure cited a law that requires animal caretakers to "provide proper sustenance". Artest later sent an email to the Bee, writing "I'm glad to say all problems are solved now, and I'm looking forward to getting my dog back."
[28] In March 2007, his dog was released under a foster care agreement after being treated for more than a month.
[29] In April 2007, the Placer County District Attorney's Office announced that it would not file charges against Artest for the incident.
[30] It also was reported by Placer County Animal Services and by Artest that he agreed to allow Socks to be adopted by a new owner.
On March 5, 2007, Artest was arrested for domestic abuse, and excused from Sacramento Kings indefinitely by
GM Geoff Petrie.
[31] On March 10, Kings announced that Artest would return to the team, while his case is being reviewed by the Placer County District Attorney.
[32] On
May 3, he was sentenced to 20 days in jail and community service. Artest spent only 10 days in the jail, as the judge stayed 10 days of the sentence, and served the remainder in a work release program.
[33] On
July 14,
2007, the NBA suspended Artest for seven games at the beginning of the
2007–08 NBA season for his legal problems.
[34]
NBA career statistics
| Legend
|
| GP
| Games played
| GS
| Games started
| MPG
| Minutes per game
|
| FG%
| Field-goal percentage
| 3P%
| 3-point field-goal percentage
| FT%
| Free-throw percentage
|
| RPG
| Rebounds per game
| APG
| Assists per game
| SPG
| Steals per game
|
| BPG
| Blocks per game
| PPG
| Points per game
| Bold
| Career high
|
Regular season
| Year
| Team
| GP
| GS
| MPG
| FG%
| 3P%
| FT%
| RPG
| APG
| SPG
| BPG
| PPG
|
| 1999–00
| Chicago
| 72
| 63
| 31.1
| .407
| .314
| .674
| 4.3
| 2.8
| 1.6
| .5
| 12.0
|
| 2000–01
| Chicago
| 76
| 74
| 31.1
| .401
| .291
| .750
| 3.9
| 3.0
| 2.0
| .6
| 11.9
|
| 2001–02
| Chicago
| 27
| 26
| 30.5
| .433
| .396
| .628
| 4.9
| 2.9
| 2.8
| .9
| 15.6
|
| 2001–02
| Indiana
| 28
| 24
| 29.3
| .411
| .215
| .733
| 5.0
| 1.8
| 2.4
| .6
| 10.9
|
| 2002–03
| Indiana
| 69
| 67
| 33.6
| .428
| .336
| .736
| 5.2
| 2.9
| 2.3
| .7
| 15.5
|
| 2003–04
| Indiana
| 73
| 71
| 37.2
| .421
| .310
| .733
| 5.3
| 3.7
| 2.1
| .7
| 18.3
|
| 2004–05
| Indiana
| 7
| 7
| 41.6
| .496
| .412
| .922
| 6.4
| 3.1
| 1.7
| .9
| 24.6
|
| 2005–06
| Indiana
| 16
| 16
| 37.7
| .460
| .333
| .612
| 4.9
| 2.2
| 2.6
| .7
| 19.4
|
| 2005–06
| Sacramento
| 40
| 40
| 40.1
| .383
| .302
| .717
| 5.2
| 4.2
| 2.0
| .8
| 16.9
|
| 2006–07
| Sacramento
| 70
| 65
| 37.7
| .440
| .358
| .740
| 6.5
| 3.4
| 2.1
| .6
| 18.8
|
| 2007–08
| Sacramento
| 57
| 54
| 38.1
| .453
| .380
| .719
| 5.8
| 3.5
| 2.3
| .7
| 20.5
|
| 2008–09
| Houston
| 69
| 55
| 35.5
| .401
| .399
| .748
| 5.2
| 3.3
| 1.5
| .3
| 17.1
|
| Career
|
| 604
| 562
| 34.8
| .422
| .342
| .723
| 5.1
| 3.2
| 2.1
| .6
| 16.1
|
| All-Star
|
| 1
| 0
| 17.0
| .600
| .000
| .500
| 3.0
| 3.0
| 1.0
| .0
| 7.0
|
Playoffs
| Year
| Team
| GP
| GS
| MPG
| FG%
| 3P%
| FT%
| RPG
| APG
| SPG
| BPG
| PPG
|
| 2001–02
| Indiana
| 5
| 5
| 33.4
| .407
| .462
| .692
| 6.0
| 3.2
| 2.6
| .6
| 11.8
|
| 2002–03
| Indiana
| 6
| 6
| 42.0
| .389
| .387
| .800
| 5.8
| 2.2
| 2.5
| 1.0
| 19.0
|
| 2003–04
| Indiana
| 15
| 15
| 38.9
| .378
| .288
| .718
| 6.5
| 3.2
| 1.4
| 1.1
| 18.4
|
| 2005–06
| Sacramento
| 5
| 5
| 39.6
| .383
| .333
| .696
| 5.0
| 3.0
| 1.6
| .8
| 17.4
|
| 2008–09
| Houston
| 13
| 13
| 37.5
| .394
| .277
| .714
| 4.3
| 4.2
| 1.1
| .2
| 15.6
|
| Career
|
| 44
| 44
| 38.4
| .387
| .314
| .730
| 5.5
| 3.3
| 1.6
| .7
| 16.8
|
Endorsements
Artest is currently endorsed by Chinese athletics brand Peak along with teammate
Sasha Vujacic.
In 2008, Artest appeared in a promoting companion animal spaying and neutering for
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals entitled "Have the balls to spay and neuter your dog."
[35]
Discography
My World
- Released: October 31, 2006
- Label: Lightyear Records
- Chart Positions: N/A
- Last RIAA certification: N/A
- Singles: N/A
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References
- The man behind the melee
- Ron Artest Pro and College Stats
- NBA.com : Ron Artest Bio Page
- A wild and crazy night: Kobe gets tough, Artest gets angry and the NBA has some decisions to make. Retrieved on May 7, 2009.
- http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/15/nyregion/player-dies-in-stabbing-at-basketball-game.html
- Tim Davenport, "A Ron Artest Review: The Soap Opera So Far," Silver Screen and Roll, July 4, 2009. http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2009/7/4/937998/a-ron-artest-review-the-soap-opera
- Artest, Jackson charge Palace stands
- 'Betrayed' Bird says Artest must go - December 27, 2005
- Artest has Kings back in playoff hunt
- NBA Preview - Lakers At Kings - March 14, 2006
- Q & A: Artest hits the road and the hardwood
- Rockets agree to send pick, Greene, Jackson to Kings for Artest
- It's official: Rockets acquire Ron Artest in blockbuster trade
- Despite Yao's comments, Artest seems happy about future
- http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/5945115.html
- Rockets down Blazers, advance to second round for first time in 12 years
- http://www.nba.com/2009/playoffs2009/05/09/artest.ap/index.html
- Lakers officially sign Ron Artest
- Artest says he's leaving Rockets for LA
- http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4314742
- Aretest, Brown sign contracts
- Bulls Acquire Rose, Best in Seven-Player Trade
- Kings Acquire Ron Artest for Peja Stojakovic
- It's official: Rockets acquire Ron Artest in blockbuster trade
- In Artest, Sacramento Gets A King-Size Nuisance
- Artest Timeline: Ron-Ron's troubled past
- Artest aiming to be ready for playoffs
- Placer seizes Artest dog
- Artest's Dog Released Under Foster Care Agreement
- Artest will not be charged for not feeding his dog
- Kings suspend Artest after domestic violence arrest
- Kings reinstate teary-eyed Artest after two-game absence.
- Ron Artest Sentenced to 20 Days (He'll Likely Never Serve)
- Jackson, Artest suspended following court pleas
- NBA Star Ron Artest's Spay and Neuter PETA Ad