Before he was officially traded to the Houston Rockets in 2008, Metta Sandiford-Artest, then still known as Ron Artest , already caused a stir. Artest picked up his $8.45 million player option from the Sacramento Kings and later regretted it because he claimed that the Kings misled him about the possibility of signing a long-term deal with the team. He demanded to be traded, and Sacramento found a partner in Houston.
However, before the trade could even be finalized, the deal became controversial after Houston Rockets star Yao Ming expressed concerns about Artest's past in Detroit , where he had triggered the worst brawl in NBA history. When Ron heard about Yao's comment, he took exception.
"I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto," Artest said . "That's not going to change. I'm never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don't think he's ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture. Once Yao Ming gets to know me, he'll understand what I'm about."
The 2004 brawl between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers on November 19, 2004, will forever be remembered as one of the darkest chapters in NBA history. Not only did the players fight on the court, but the violence extended to the stands when a fan threw a plastic cup filled with Diet Coke and ice on Artest, who was lying down on the scorer's table.
Artest felt disrespected, so he immediately ran into the stands and charged the guy he thought did it. But he caught the wrong dude, and the real culprit came up from behind and grabbed the then-Pacers star. All hell broke loose, and the brawl that began on the court spread to the stands and involved fans.
The incident resulted in the suspension of nine players, totaling 146 games, plus an aggregate fine of $11 million. Artest was hit the hardest, as he was suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs. He ended up missing 86 total games, the longest non-drugs-related suspension in NBA history. But more than that, the Malice at the Palace was forever linked to Ron, and that's what Yao was worried about.
"Hopefully, he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands," Ming said.
For Yao, the incident involved a player fighting a fan. But for Artest, it was more than that. Ron was born and raised in Queensbridge, New York, in a neighborhood where disrespect was not tolerated, and folks don't back down from any challenge.
According to Artest, he did not want to fight Ben Wallace, so that's why he lay down on the scorer's table. However, when the fan threw a drink at him, his "ghetto persona" in him was irked.
"I'm not trying to fight. I've already lost a lot of cash getting suspended. So I thought the scorer's table, my momentum took me to the scorer's table. I'm like, he didn't punch me in my face, so I'm cool. I'm just gonna lay down here," Artest explained. "The whole stadium is riled up, which led to this guy in the fourth quarter just throwing a couple of beers in my face. That was super insulting."
Fortunately, the tension between Ming and Artest was diffused, and he would go on to help the Rockets advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997. However, they lost to the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers , in a Game 7 in the second round. Ron interestingly left to join the Purple & Gold after that season.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 12, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
