Ron Artest

Profile:

• Position: Guard/Small Forward
• Born: 13/11/79
• Height: 6-7 / 2,01
• Weight: 260 lbs. / 117,9 kg.
• College: St. John's

Career Highlights:
• In seven games in 2004-05, averaged team-high 24.6 points.
• Voted the NBA's 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year by the media.
• Leading vote-getter for the NBA All-Defensive team, as voted on by NBA head coaches.
• Also named to the All-NBA Third Team, his first selection to an All-NBA squad.
• Named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the first time in 2004, he averaged career-highs of 18.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg.
• Runner-up for NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a Second Team All-Defensive selection in '02-03, he led the Pacers in steals with 159 and finished second in the NBA in steals per game (2.30).
• He was the league leader with an average of 3.29 steals for every 48 minutes played in 2002-03.
• Named to the 1999-2000 Schick All-Rookie Second Team.

k1x is a basketball lifestyle brand, and given hip-hop's undeniable presence in basketball, now, and for the last 15 years or so, the two are not going to be separated anytime soon. Given Ron Ron's immersion into hip-hop (if you don't know, check out www.truwarier.com ), choosing him as k1x's first NBA player is a no-brainer. However, there is more to his selection than just so bluntly generalizing it into “basketball” and “Hip-Hop.”

NBA Public enemy number 1. Ron has been (and will probably continue to be) the victim to all the cynics, critics, professional naysayers and all those who love to jump on bandwagons and shoot hate in every direction.

Yes, he has done many dumb things (who the hell hasn't ) and yes he has a temper (who the hell doesn't ) but those factors do not blind k1x from seeing the truth, that Ron Ron is one of the most complete basketball players in the NBA – having a sound offensive game and an even better defensive game - and he is also one of the nicest guys off the court that you could ever hope to meet. Bet you didn't know the dude gives quite a big proportion of his income to urban charities to try and better the lives of others.

Whilst others see thuggery, we see passion, determination and a huge heart. Yes, he is an insane monster, an insane defensive monster , Ron wears his heart on his sleeve and his NBA uniform, taking pride in being given the responsibility in shutting down the other teams best player night after night, earning his reputation as the NBA's most feared perimeter defender. He lives and breathes k1x's motto of “You can't teach heart” and it will be a cold day in hell before he embarrasses our products with his intensity and style of play on the hardwood of the NBA. Get the incident on 19/11/04 out of your minds and just watch the dude play. It is a thing of ‘ghetto' beauty.

What don't kill you only makes you stronger and Ron-Ron has definitely survived.

We wish Ron the best in Sacramento .

For more information and insight about Ron Artest, check the links below:

http://www.ronartest.com

http://www.hiphopgame.com/index2.php3?page=ronartest

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/ron_artest/?nav=page

http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_1487

http://compuserve.nba.com/pacers/news/artest_award_040419.html

http://compuserve.nba.com/pacers/news/artest_page_0405.html