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Ronald William Artest, Jr. (born November 13, 1979) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays with the Houston Rockets of the NBA. Artest gained reputation as one of the premier defenders winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004. However, he has caused controversy in the past for his role as one of the central figures in the Pacers-Pistons brawl.

Biography
Artest was born and raised in the Queensbridge projects in Queens, New York. He played high school basketball at La Salle Academy and college basketball at St. John's University from 1997-1999.In 1999 he helped the Red storm to the Elite 8 losing to Ohio State in a classic. He gained fame playing in some of New York City's high profiled 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, Brendan Haywood of the Washington Wizards and Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers on the same AAU team.

Chicago Bulls


Artest was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th pick of the 1999 NBA Draft. In the 1999-00 season he was named to the Schick All-Rookie Team. In 2 1/2 seasons with Chicago he averaged 12.5 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, 2.9 assist per game, and 2 steals per game.
While playing for the Bulls, Artest was Michael Jordan's "favorite Bull".

Indiana Pacers
In 2002, Artest was traded by the Bulls to the Pacers, along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, and Kevin Ollie, in exchange for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a second-round draft pick. Artest had his best season in the 2003-2004 season. He averaged 18.3 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, and 3.7 assists per game. He made the 2004 All-Star Game as a reserve and he was 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. This fight resulted in the game being stopped with less than a minute remaining. Artest teammates 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 plus playoff appearances). This is the longest non-drug or betting related suspension in NBA history. Eight other players (four Pacers and four Pistons) received suspensions, without pay, that 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 barred 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.”
On January 24, 2006, reports from NBA sources confirmed that the Sacramento Kings had agreed to trade Peja Stojaković 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 Stojaković 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 Stojaković.