Apr 30

Ron Artest made quite a stir yesterday when, during an interview with Craig Sager, he noted Brandon Roy was “probably the best player I’ve played against.” Sager, not surprisingly, followed up immediately asking if Artest did indeed think Roy was better than NBA golden boys LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, to which Artest restated that Roy was “the best player I’ve played against.”

But less than 24 hours later, Artest isn’t so sure. Confronted by the media today after Rockets shootaround, Artest declared another player the best in the NBA: himself.

“I don’t know,” said Artest of whether Roy is the best player in the game. “That was yesterday; this is a new day. And I feel I’m the best, so it’s a new day.”

Ron-Ron was having a little fun at this point, so it’s difficult to conclude whether he really believes he’s the best player in the NBA. In fact, it’s difficult to conclude what Artest was saying, period.

“(Roy) is a good player,” said Artest, “he might be better (than Bryant and James). I don’t know. I don’t know how to judge those things, you know? It’s not like everybody was taking off their teams for the year and all the role players had to play to show what they got so we don’t know who's as important to their team. But, you know, it’s no secret that he’s a good player.”

It’s probably not wise to attempt to deconstruct the mind of Ron Artest, but I think he’s saying that it’s hard to tell who the “best player” is due to each players supporting cast. So in Artest’s mind, maybe it’s Roy. Or maybe it’s Kobe or LeBron. Or it could be Artest. No one knows entirely what Artest thinks, including Artest himself.

Finally, when asked if he could envision how good Roy will be in the future, Artest again turned the conversation back to … himself.

“Not yet, not yet” answered Artest. “I’m trying to envision how good I can be.”