LeBron or Kobe? Kobe or Shaq?
These weren't just classic sports arguments for Ron Artest. For him, this was real life, real money and perhaps his last real shot at an NBA championship.
He chose Kobe.
Or maybe his decision was more about Los Angeles over Cleveland (no contest there). After all, he was sitting courtside at Staples Center almost as much Jack and Denzel after the Lakers eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs, and he's already familiar with two fixtures of L.A. nightlife: TMZ paparazzi and bacon-wrapped hot dogs. He even has a cell phone with a 310 area code.
But from a basketball perspective, Artest's choice reaffirms the final theme of this season: Shaq was then, Kobe's now, LeBron's next. At the moment, nothing matters in the NBA world as much as what the Lakers are up to.
Even on Shaquille O'Neal's home turf of Twitter, "Ron Artest" was the second-ranked trending topic Thursday evening, with "Lakers" and "Kobe" not far behind. No sign of Shaq or LeBron in the top 10.
We've reached the point that Shaq's holding up a new jersey no longer qualifies as the lead story of the day, even if his presence improves the team with the best record in the league last season. When he went to the Lakers on the eve of the 1996 Olympics, it was a bigger story than the Games themselves. And who can forget his pulling up to AmericanAirlines Arena in a big rig, then dousing the adoring crowd with a Super Soaker upon his arrival in Miami? He made the "SportsCenter" highlights on his first night in Phoenix, and all he did was watch the game from a suite.
Thursday's introductory news conference in Cleveland felt less like the main event and more like a lounge act on the side of the casino. Maybe it's because he was leaning back in a chair while holding a microphone to his mouth instead of standing at a lectern. Maybe it's because this is the fourth time he has done this. Maybe it's because there's no tension about the pecking order anymore. "We all know it's LeBron's team," O'Neal said.
"I'm now in the security business," he added. "My job is to protect the King. And that's what I'm here to do."
The final question posed to him was what he thought about Dwight Howard. And although Shaq continued to downplay the neo-Superman, the question itself was another subtle reminder of the shift: It used to be that other teams had to make moves to deal with Shaq. Shaq was brought to Cleveland to match up with Howard.
These weren't just classic sports arguments for Ron Artest. For him, this was real life, real money and perhaps his last real shot at an NBA championship.
He chose Kobe.
Or maybe his decision was more about Los Angeles over Cleveland (no contest there). After all, he was sitting courtside at Staples Center almost as much Jack and Denzel after the Lakers eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs, and he's already familiar with two fixtures of L.A. nightlife: TMZ paparazzi and bacon-wrapped hot dogs. He even has a cell phone with a 310 area code.
But from a basketball perspective, Artest's choice reaffirms the final theme of this season: Shaq was then, Kobe's now, LeBron's next. At the moment, nothing matters in the NBA world as much as what the Lakers are up to.
Even on Shaquille O'Neal's home turf of Twitter, "Ron Artest" was the second-ranked trending topic Thursday evening, with "Lakers" and "Kobe" not far behind. No sign of Shaq or LeBron in the top 10.
We've reached the point that Shaq's holding up a new jersey no longer qualifies as the lead story of the day, even if his presence improves the team with the best record in the league last season. When he went to the Lakers on the eve of the 1996 Olympics, it was a bigger story than the Games themselves. And who can forget his pulling up to AmericanAirlines Arena in a big rig, then dousing the adoring crowd with a Super Soaker upon his arrival in Miami? He made the "SportsCenter" highlights on his first night in Phoenix, and all he did was watch the game from a suite.
Thursday's introductory news conference in Cleveland felt less like the main event and more like a lounge act on the side of the casino. Maybe it's because he was leaning back in a chair while holding a microphone to his mouth instead of standing at a lectern. Maybe it's because this is the fourth time he has done this. Maybe it's because there's no tension about the pecking order anymore. "We all know it's LeBron's team," O'Neal said.
"I'm now in the security business," he added. "My job is to protect the King. And that's what I'm here to do."
The final question posed to him was what he thought about Dwight Howard. And although Shaq continued to downplay the neo-Superman, the question itself was another subtle reminder of the shift: It used to be that other teams had to make moves to deal with Shaq. Shaq was brought to Cleveland to match up with Howard.
RON ARTEST VIDEO
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