Like a freight train in a headband, Ron Artest — now known as Metta Sandiford-Artest — made sure a teenage LeBron James knew exactly what life in the NBA would be like.
Two decades later, James still remembers.
“Ron Artest. Oh my goodness,” the Los Angeles Lakers star said on his Mind the Game podcast with Hall of Famer and two-time MVP Steve Nash, when asked to name the toughest defender he’s ever faced.
“Really good with his hands, laterally was really good, strong as an ox. I played him in my early years when he was in Indiana. It was challenging for sure. One of the best defenders I’ve played against,” James added.
The four-time champion and Artest faced off 21 times, with James winning 13 of those meetings. Their most physical battles came early in James’ career, when Artest — then with the Indiana Pacers — was in his defensive prime.
Artest won Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, James’ rookie season, and finished in the top eight of DPOY voting six times.
“Ron definitely had you like, ‘OK, this is what the league is about. This is a hell of a test for you as an 18-year-old out of high school. I was like, ‘Yeah, I love this. This is awesome,” the 40-year-old continued.
Artest made four All-Defensive Teams during a 17-year career with six teams, including the Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, and two stints with the Lakers.
He averaged 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals across 991 career games, and helped the LA win its 16th championship in 2010 — a grueling seven-game series over the Boston Celtics that capped his lone title run alongside Kobe Bryant and head coach Phil Jackson.
That Lakers team operated under Jackson’s famed “triangle offense,” a system James also discussed in the podcast.
“Obviously, the Triangle was great in its time. It was a great ecosystem to have,” James said when asked why the system is rarely used in today’s NBA.
He added: “But I just think the game is much more spread out now.”
Though the triangle offense" has largely faded in today’s pace-and-space era, James noted that its core principles still survive — particularly through coaches like Steve Kerr, who integrated triangle actions into the Golden State Warriors’ motion-heavy offense.
“I just think the game is much more spread out now — the three-point shooting, the attempts, the space,” the 21-time All-Star said. “It was great in its time, but I don’t see how it could [work].”
