The All-Time NBA Badass Team

After Ron Artest put up an MVP-worthy performance in Game 7 of the NBA Finals (and a series of post-match interviews that should really be filed away by Congress for future generations) it got me thinking about players like Ron.  The Badasses.

The NBA has seen many memorable badasses in its time, Ron–Ron being just one of them. If there were such a list of players, who would be on it?

I decided to take it upon myself to create this lineup.

Please note: the starting five have been chosen on account of how badass they were, not by how good their careers were.

PG – Isiah Thomas 

The floor general of the legendary "Bad Boys" Pistons teams, Zeke has to be one of the baddest PGs to step on a basketball court. One of my uncles who's a lifelong Pistons fan has infinite stories of Isiah taking on guys who stood taller and wider than him...and he still got the better of them.

As long as we don't make him the GM, I'd pick him for an All-Badass NBA team anytime. 

SG – Allen Iverson

As Bill Simmons put it, A.I. "is a featherweight who carries himself like a heavyweight." 

When Iverson was in his prime, no one in the league took more punishment.  No other player got back up to stare down the motherf***er who knocked him down either. 

Everyone knows an off-court story that just adds to the badass legend of A.I as well.

SF – Ron Artest

Need I say more?

Ron-Ron's crazier than a loon and tougher than nails. If I could pick one guy in the NBA to have my back in a bar fight, it would be Ron Artest.

Say Queensbridge!

PF – Charles Oakley

Oak has to be the baddest man alive. When he was in the NBA no one was more of a badass than Oak. He would stare down the biggest bastard in the league, and said bastard would crap his pants at the thought of taking on Oak.

Even today he's still one of the coolest/scariest guys alive. Every hockey enforcer wishes they were as hard as Charles Oakley.

Plus, he responded to one of my Tweets once. 

C – Bill Laimbeer

Laimbeer is arguably the most hated man to ever play in the NBA. While I'm not sure about that, no one can argue he was one tough "mofo."

Sure, he flopped in ways that would make Anderson Varejao blush.  He did do that while dishing out harder hits on the defensive end though.

Those hard fouls contributed to the badass legend of Laimbeer. If you're the enforcer on a team as hard/dirty as the Bad Boy Pistons, you've gotta be pretty badass.

Bench: Dennis Rodman, Stephen Jackson, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Sloan.

What do you guys reckon? Who would you have on your All-Time Badass team?