The Fig Cap: This is McFarlane Toys’ rendition of Artest.  Booty to be slapped not included.

Allen Iverson is the paragon of the “thug” element in basketball’s current era of tattoos, cornrows, mean mugs, and putting out hip hop records.  However, AI is the paragon because of all of his offcourt shiznizzle.  So, if anyone has been the epitome of “thug” on the court (and in the stands), there is no question that it’s Ron Artest.  Sure, okay, fine… why beat a dead horse?  We all know about The Malice in the Palace and all that, but I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A POINT!!!  In any case, despite the bad rap (and I don’t mean Artest’s record), the Tru Warier has some game and ironically enough, plays lockdown defense.  But, that’s not all the boy from the QB can do.

Round 4, Pick 6: Ron Artest, SF, Sacramento Kings

For all of the accolades that Ron Ron gets for his lockdown defense, he’s almost as dangerous when he has the rock on offense.  Let’s check the stats over the past three seasons:

2004-05: 7 G; 41:36 Min; 49.6 FG%; 1.0 3PTM; 92.2 FT%; 6.4 RPG; 3.1 APG; 2.4 TO; 1.7 SPG; 0.9 BPG; 24.6 PPG
2005-06: 16 G; 37:42 Min; 46.0 FG%; 1.1 3PTM; 61.2 FT%; 4.9 RPG; 2.2 APG; 2.7 TO; 2.6 SPG; 0.7 BPG; 19.4 PPG - Indiana Pacers
2005-06: 40 G; 40:06 Min; 38.3 FG%; 1.5 3PTM; 71.7 FT%; 5.2 RPG; 4.2 APG; 2.2 TO; 2.0 SPG; 0.8 BPG; 16.9 PPG - Sacramento Kings
2006-07: 70 G; 37:42 Min; 44.0 FG%; 1.3 3PTM; 74.0 FT%; 6.5 RPG; 3.4 APG; 2.1 TO; 2.1 SPG; 0.6 BPG; 18.8 PPG

As you can see, in recent years, Artest has shown himself to be more than a capable scorer from both the outside and inside, where he’s underrated as a post player.  He can stick the triple the way he
sticks on an offensive player, doing so for about 1.3 trey makes a contest.  Artest also has the muscle to basically bully weaker small forwards and hit the short J or take it to the rack.  However, Artest also has excellent passing ability and isn’t just a scorer on offense as is typical of his position.  He has the potential to drop about four dimes per game and every little bit helps if you can get that production from the three, especially if you have a high scoring point guard that doesn’t pass as much as you’d like it.  Say, Gilbert Arenas or Mo Williams as examples.  The combined stats should help your team overall.

The rebounding numbers are fairly strong and the percentages seem to fluctuate each season.  However, let’s get real and back to what makes Artest so attractive to fantasy owners - his cool misspelling of the words, “true warrior.”  Okay, I’m kidding.  It’s the way he spits rhymes on top of dope beats.  Okay, I’m kidding again unless Ron Ron is reading this now… “Yo, son, you got crazy game on the court AND the mic!”  In all seriousness, what makes Artest a definite get in fourth or fifth rounds depending on the size of your league are the steals.  He has the potential every season to lead the L in ripping rocks, a category that isn’t as easy to play catch up on during week in H2H formats or the season in ROTO leagues.  Artest is simply the best at being a thief.

Artest is a great complement player on this team as he’ll be the only one that can get down in the steals category, while (primarily) Nash gives the assists, Howard, the boards, and Carter, the points.  Naturally, the aforementioned players do a lot of other things as does Artest.  So far, the combination of these four is very strong across the categories.  Hopefully no one throws a “fantasy” soda to get Ron Ron suspended from the team.  Queue the laugh track!

Other Players on this Fantasy Team:

1.7. Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns
2.6. Dwight Howard, PF/C, Orlando Magic
3.7. Vince Carter, SG/SF, New Jersey Nets

Previous Picks This Round:

1. Joe Johnson, PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks
2. Kevin Martin, SG, Sacramento Kings
3. Brandon Roy, PG/SG, Portland Trailblazers
4. Jason Richardson, SG, Charlotte Bobcats
5. Mike Bibby, PG, Sacramento Kings

Previous Round Selections

Round One Recap
Round Two Recap
Round Three Recap