So glad that I won’t be hearing that stupid name as often. Now can we get some real team players?
Well, he did help WIN a championship for the Lakers in 2010.
I remember In Game 5 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals, Artest hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer after grabbing a last second offensive rebound. He scored 25 points against the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 and went to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career.
In the finals, the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics, four games to three. Artest scored 20 points in the clincher and sank the team’s last field goal – a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter – to virtually seal the victory.
Afterwards, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson called Artest the most valuable player of Game 7 against the Celtics.
Edit to add... back then, he was still called Ron Artest.