8 Sacramento Kings

The moment Ron Artest realized he was glad to call Sacramento home, he was on the other side of the country. It happened last summer as he walked around the Queensbridge projects in New York City with Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof. No cameras, no security, no attention--just an employee showing his bosses his childhood home. "They wanted to see how I grew up," says Artest, 26, who spent his life through college in New York. "I got a chance to walk them around my hood and introduce them to all my ghetto friends. I would have never imagined walking in the ghetto with my owners. That just doesn't happen. That means a lot. I love them. I'll do anything for them."

The Maloofs' investment in the mercurial Artest, whom Sacramento acquired last January from the Pacers for Peja Stojakovic, has already paid dividends. The Kings were 17--24 before the deal, but following a brief acclimation period they went on a 14--5 run to reach the postseason for the eighth straight year. "When I got there, guys were lazy and I felt that we needed to play harder to make the playoffs," says the 6'7" Artest, who averaged 16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 40 games with the Kings. "We had a lot of guys who'd given up on the season."

Things haven't gone as well since: Sacramento lost to the Spurs in the first round, coach Rick Adelman was fired, and guard Bonzi Wells left as a free agent. Still, Artest has high expectations. "We've grown as a team, and we know what we gotta do now," he says. "I'm motivated to take my game and this team to another level."

Projected Starting Lineup with 2005--06 statistics

Brad Miller
POS. C
PPG 15.0
RPG 7.8
APG 4.7
BPG 0.78
SPG 0.77
FG% 49.5
FT% 82.8

Ron Artest
POS. SF
PPG 17.6
RPG 5.1
APG 3.6
SPG 2.18
BPG 0.73
FG% 40.4
3FG% 30.8

Mike Bibby
POS. PG
PPG 21.1
RPG 2.9
APG 5.4
SPG 1.00
FG% 43.2
3FG% 38.6
FT% 84.9

Kevin Martin
POS. SG
PPG 10.8
RPG 3.6
APG 1.3
SPG 0.76
FG% 48.0
3FG% 36.9
FT% 84.7

Kenny Thomas
POS. PF
PPG 9.1
RPG 7.5
APG 2.0
BPG 0.48
SPG 0.88
FG% 50.5
FT% 67.6

BENCH 2005--06 STATS
[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

*NEW ACQUISITION
(R) ROOKIE (COLLEGE STATISTICS)