Los Angeles Lakers: The Top 5 Most Controversial Ron Artest Moments In L.A.

Everything in life requires a certain degree of excitement and humor in order to be worthwhile.

This goes for sports as well and people like Ron Artest, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and others have made the world of sports that much better by not only entertaining us on the court, but off the court as well.

Since Artest joined the Lakers, it's safe to say that his mannerisms have changed dramatically, but that doesn't mean that the old Artest isn't still lurking around, waiting for the next chance to get attention. Artest is like Peter Pan in that he never wants to grow up and he is honestly better off that way; he brings so much character and excitement, even as of now.

Anyway, here are the five most entertaining Ron Artest moments In L.A. Hope you enjoy and, as always, feel free to drop in and comment!

5. "Defense"

Everyone has to remember the game against the Orlando Magic in which Artest showed up as if he were Dennis Rodman, dyeing his hair gold and engraving the word "defense" in three different languages: Japanese, Hebrew and Hindi.

The funny thing was the Lakers actually ended up losing the game by two, but no one expected anything less from Artest. It was a great matchup in Magic-Lakers and if anybody was going to be singled out from everyone else, who better than the crazy defensive specialist, Ron Artest.

4. Jimmy Kimmel Live: Underwear

Have you ever turned on the TV and seen a man in only his boxers sitting in a chair on national TV? I didn't think so.

Well Artest has been that man, and he made that edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live one of the more memorable. It was merely because he had the guts to wear his boxers to the show.

This is what makes Artest such a likeable guy; he knows when to be serious and when not to be. Artest showing up in boxers just clarifies why he is among the most charismatic players in the league today.

3. Hercules: From Zero To Hero

There are moments when all NBA fans scratch their heads as they watch a last-second shot hover in the air for what seems like years.

Well this was one of those moments. In Game 5 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals, Artest saved the Lakers from possibly losing the series to the Phoenix Suns.

With only a couple of seconds left on the clock, all eyes were naturally on Kobe Bryant and, as usual, he ended up shooting the potential game-winner. As the ball was in the air, every Laker fan could see that it was going to be short, and at that very moment, Artest came out of nowhere and tipped in the shot for the game winner.

This was a controversial moment because of Artest's performance throughout this very game. Throughout that game Artest had one of his worst games as a Laker, choosing horrible shot selections and missing everything, but at the end of the game, there he was, going from zero to hero within a matter of seconds.

2. Champions

"Champions"

When the Lakers were celebrating yet another NBA Championship in 2010, Artest was just releasing his first single, "Champions," a song dedicated to his team's success that season.

It was his first championship and it was only fitting that Artest made a song dedicated to his team's hard work and success.

To this day, every Laker fan can't help but smile when seeing this song being played over and over again on Youtube—and, oh by the way, this very video has just recently gone over one-million views. Kudos to Artest for making this song and video.

1. Oversized Go-Cart: Eagle Roadster

Ever dreamed of driving around town in a go-cart that can go 152 miles per hour? Well Artest has and he paid for it—literally.

On September, 9, 2010, Artest got pulled over and fined by an officer who just happened to see an "oversized go-cart" passing by going very fast. The funny part of all this was the fact that this go-cart wasn't even licensed to Artest. In fact, according to his words, it was owned by his friend who lived in Tennessee.

Just when you thought that Artest was calming down in L.A., he does something like this. Oh well, we all laughed and at the end of the day it wasn't even close to a big deal. That is unless you fell down on the floor laughing after watching this.