REALEST OF THE DECADE: RON ARTEST

Alright, we milked that about as long as we could. Without further adieu, your Realest of the Decade is none other than the Tru Warier, Ron Artest:



There have been some insane acts of reality in the past decade but there's just no one that delivered year-in year-out like Artest. He entered the decade just another street-tough rookie from the Queens projects; ten years later, he's the craziest mofo in NBA history.

Let's take a look back at his timeline since 2000, with the help of LA Sports Central:

June 13, 2001: During a pickup game, broke two of Michael Jordan's ribs. Said Artest: "I read it in the paper and was like, 'Man, Mike's ribs got broke. How'd his ribs get broke?'"

Jan 4, 2003: Suspended three games and fined $35,000 for smashing video equipment after a loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Jan. 30, 2003: Suspended four games after confrontation with Heat coach Pat Riley on the sidelines during the game, then flipping the fans in Miami "the bird."

Feb. 26, 2003: Suspended one game by Pacers for smashing a framed picture of himself in Conseco Fieldhouse.

March 20, 2003: Suspended two games for flagrant foul on Celtics forward Paul Pierce that occurred five seconds into the game. It was his eighth flagrant foul of the season.

April 3, 2003: Fined $20,000 for making an obscene gesture to the crowd in Cleveland.

Feb. 16, 2004: Marked his first All-Star appearance by continually changing shoes during the game in the hopes of getting a shoe contract.

May 25, 2004: Fined $10,000 for making an obscene gesture during Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons (are you seeing a trend here?).

Nov. 9-10, 2004: Benched for two games after asking for time off to promote the release of his upcoming rap album.

Nov. 19, 2004: Ya'll already know:



Oct. 2005: Appeared on the cover of the December issue of Penthouse. In the interview, Artest said he wanted to box Ben Wallace on pay-per-view.

Dec. 10, 2005: In an interview with the Indianapolis Star, Artest suggests the Pacers trade him, saying he wouldn't mind coming off the bench for LeBron James.

Jan. 1, 2006: Artest, tells the New York Post that his New Year's resolution is to: "Teach math classes in elementary schools throughout the country. And, of course, I want to sell 10 million records."

July 7, 2009: ... How about this for a Flip McTwist? After beef with Kobe in the playoffs, Artest signs with the Lakers for five years. Opts to wear #37 in honor of Michael Jackson, whose album "Thriller" was the top-selling record for 37 consecutive weeks - he explains he is "hoodalizing" the number.

Aug. 2009: While traveling through China, gives an impoverished kid a $45,000 diamond watch for his education.

Nov. 2009: Artest shows up on Jimmy Kimmel in only his boxers. Why? Because he was running late, of course.



Dec. 2009: Artest claims "I used to drink Hennesy at halftime."

We can't wait to see what Artest is doing in 2020. Any guesses???