The best thing that can be said about Artest having success in the NBA, and making a deep run with the Rockets into the playoffs, is that it should keep him sufficiently busy to the point that he'll have insufficient time to record anymore rap albums.

One of the best defenders in the league and still gets 15-20 points a game. I used to really dislike Artest when he was a Pacer but honestly, I kind of became a fan after that brawl in Detroit. That fan had 3 dui's on his record and a bunch of assault and other charges. For a player to have to fear for his safety on the bench is bs and I can't totally blame Artest, who was so heated at an exchange with Wallace, to have run up in the stands. After that, when he got traded to Sacramento, and turned that team around for a season, and played hard day in day out even when they were very bad, I gained a lot of respect for him. He's a self-pronounced thug and he speaks his mind. I like his dislike for Kobe and I hope they take the Lakers out.

I have had enough. This guy just annoys me now. At the height of his carrer he was probably a four, but how many places are going to take a chance on this loser.

Cant stand him, he's an ass and a bad image of the NBA.

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Such a class act!

he's pretty BA fah sho. but so is anyone associated with the bulls franchise haha.

Thugs should be banned from the game.

Dirty, I won't forget that horrible fight

His extra-ordinary physical talent is apparently not matched with any self-control, greatly diminishing his value.

Should be a 4-or-5 star player, but will blow up anyday and turn on a team thus cannot be counted on as much as other star players. . .

Ron Artest is a good player but he's a thug. He's a great defender, and can do a little of everything on offense. Great defender, good on offense.

Personally I can't blame him for retaliating. I mean he has a reputation and all that. But haven't any of you seen the little petty foul he committed againgst Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace acted that way for 2 reasons. #1 He had to go to the line and his chances of makeing a big comeback was even greater at that point than if Ron just let him have a dunk. Wallace tried to beat the heck out of Artest. Artest trying to avoid a big promlem backed down and boom right in the chest with a water jug; that I guarantee hurt worse than it looked. I'm going to the Kings-Warriors game with my aunt on the 21st just around the corner and I beleive the fans should be safe. But let's be real this ball players even despitesalaries can only take so much abuse from the fans!Go Kings!!!!

Good basketball player, but terrible attitude, plus hasn't played enough this season to merit a better ranking.

Well, one thing seems apparent - Ron Are Testy.

Plenty of talent. One of the top defenders and improving his offensive game. The key concern is his self-control issues. The smallest thing will set him off like a supernova. He is the poster boy for loose cannon athletes.

As a player, somewhere between a 4 and 5. A great defensive player with a score's touch. As a person, a big fat zero. This dude has been a nuclear detonation waiting to happen over the past couple of years. He was starting to act bizarro earlier this month when he asked his coach for a month off because he was tired after recording a rap album. But the Detonation in Detroit takes the cake. While there were a few drunken dudes in the stands that exacerbated the situation, nothing exonerates Artest from the stupidity and brutality of attacking fans nearly half his size. NBA commish David Stern acted appropriately and suspended him for a year (he'll lose $5M in Jack). Artest's immaturity and selfishness also destroyed any chance for the Indiana Pacers to contend this season. He now overtakes Latrell Sprewell and Kobe as biggest A-Hole in the NBA.

What an idiot! Not Artest, David Stern. This guy is going to be allowed to play in the NBA again. Great message to send, seeing as how he has a well documented history of taunting and fighting. Here are the new NBA rules: you can get away with almost anything (leaving the court and pummeling the face of a fan, choke your coach because you don't like his coaching style, hit a referee) as long as you're a good player. Only the NBA could manage to make a victim out of an idiot who throws a beer on a player.

i give him 5 stars because that fight he started was the coolest thing i have ever seen in basketball..........he should do it more often

Congrats Ronnie, you started the NBA's biggest and worst brawl. You deserve to be thrown out!

Ron Artest is an Elite player who will continue to improve on the offensive end. How often can a player dominant on the defensive end every single guy and still put up nearly 20 a nighT? Artest is the man and PACERS must keep him and not trade him...he will become one of the top 5 players in the league soon.

its the d baby

Best physical Defender in the NBA!

The best defensive player in the game seemed to thrive off the media attention he received for his implosions. He seems to bucking for the attention ESPN and the likes gave to Rodman for acting like an idiot on the court.

He can play defense like nobody else in the NBA. It was a great trade for the Pacers. He hustles too.

When you spend more time watching the game at home instead of playing, you don't win Defensive Player of the Year. Plus he will never he the game Ben Wallace has. EVER.

I think that Ron Artest is a great player who just likes to win. I see no problem with his attitude and I don't find him an immature player. He should just keep up the good work and could do an amazing job replacing Reggie Miller for the Pacers when Reggie leaves.

Control yourself Ronny. Some of his problems come from not thinking and being overly aggressive. However much of his antics are just plain immature. He should be a great player, and will do an amazing job of replacing Reggie Miller for the Pacers.

The only headlines I ever hear from this guy is the constant verbal and physical taunting and fighting among players, referees, and fans. The number of technical fould he recieves only hurts his team goal of victory in every game. That alone proves him to be a risk for any team no matter how many points he scores each game.

He's a pretty good player who is a complete prima donna and acts like a petulant child. First the breaking of the expensive camera on the way to the locker room after a tough loss to the Knicks, then the altercation with Pat Riley. He is the most immature player I've seen in my life. He needs to accept when things don't go his way with class rather than taking his anger out on people that don't deserve it.

I rarely let an athlete's personality - or what he does outside of sports - affect how I rate him as an athlete. But Artest's is a special case. His whining, his ridiculous tantrums, and the disrespect he shows for teammates, opponents, staff, equipment, fans, the game of basketball as a whole, -you name it- more than outweigh the talent he so obviously has. He makes Rasheed Wallace look coachable and, to be brutally honest, his antics belong on MTV's The Real World...not in the NBA. As a coach, I'd recruit and start Subway's hero, Jared, before letting Artest see a second of court-time. As grandfatherish as it sounds, somebody has to make an example of him.