Once again, another one of those GREAT emails I receive from ESPN and their research department.
Ron Artest has been a pretty laid-back NBA player over the last few seasons, but earlier in his career, he was a ticking time-bomb, having multiple league and team-imposed suspensions. He has been suspended just once in the postseason in his career (April 2004), but plenty of times in the regular season.
Ron Artest
NBA Career
NBA-Imposed Suspensions-11 Games Missed: 108
Team-Imposed Suspensions- 1 Games Missed: 1
>includes postseason
July 2007: Suspended by the NBA for the first seven games of the 2007-08 season by the NBA for pleading nolo contendre to infliction of injury on a spouse.
April 2006: Suspended by the NBA for one game for a forearm to Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.
Nov. 2004: Charged into the stands at the Palace of Auburn Hills to attack a fan who had thrown a cup at him. Two days later, he was suspended for the remainder of the season by the NBA. Artest pleaded no contest to assault and battery charges and was sentenced to a year of probation, community service, anger management counseling and a $250 fine. He missed 73 regular-season games and 13 playoff games in total, while also losing $4,995,000 in salary. (Notice Coach Carlisle?---->)
April 2004: Suspended one game by the NBA for leaving the immediate vicinity of the team's bench during an altercation during Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs.
March 2004: Suspended one game by the NBA for elbowing the Trail Blazers' Derek Anderson during game.
March 2003: Suspended two games for flagrant foul on the Celtics' Paul Pierce five seconds into the game. Eighth flagrant foul called for automatic two game suspension.
March 2003: Suspended one game for flagrant foul (seventh of the season, which led to automatic suspension) on 76ers' Eric Snow.
March 2003: Suspended one game for flagrant foul (sixth of the season, which led to automatic suspension) on Trail Blazers' Bonzi Wells.
Feb. 2003: Suspended one game by Pacers for smashing a framed picture of himself in Conseco Fieldhouse.
Jan. 2003: Suspended four games (costing him $84,000) by the NBA after confrontation with Heat coach Pat Riley on the sidelines during the game, then flipping his middle finger at the fans in Miami. The incident boiled over in the fourth quarter when Artest scored and was fouled, and proceeded to flex his right arm while walking toward the Miami bench. Heat assistant coach Keith Askins exchanged words with Artest, who brushed against Riley. Riley, who was already hot because of an Artest flagrant foul on Caron Butler, began shouting with Artest and shoved him away.
Jan. 2003: Suspended three games and fined $35,000 by the NBA for smashing video equipment after a loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Feb. 2001: Suspended for one game and fined $7,500 by the NBA for fighting with Glenn Robinson during Bulls-Bucks game.
