NBA

WATCH: Ron Artest Thanks Psychiatrist, Promotes Single During Postgame Interview

On a night where Kobe Bryant wasn’t quite Kobe Bryant, thankfully for the Lakers, Ron Artest played a lot like the Ron Artest of old.

A beast.  (Say Queensbridge!)

Artest, whose ranking of 22nd on our power grid will surely shoot up in the coming days, was a monster on defense (5 steals).  He was assertive on the glass (3 offensive boards).  And most important, he hit shots (7 FG made for 20 pts), including a pivotal 3-pointer with a minute to play that put the Lakers up 79-73.  Without a doubt, Game 7 was Artest’s best playoff performance as a Laker (during the postseason, at times, he found himself truly struggling, particularly offensively).  And for Artest and the Lakers, this performance could not have come at a better time.

But what was responsible for the elevation in Artest’s game? What was that key factor that helped him step it up to a whole other level?

According to Artest, his psychiatrist (Dr. Sandy!), whom he thanked profusely during his post-game interview for helping him stay relaxed.

Said Artest:

“My psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot.  Thank you so much.  It’s so difficult to play…so much commotion going on in the playoffs.  She wanted me to relax.  Thank you so much. I knocked down that three.”

We’d be lying if we said that we weren’t relieved to hear that he has been talking things out with someone.  We’d also be lying if we said we were surprised.

What would not be a lie, however, is this: Although Ron-Ron’s therapy sessions failed to manifest themselves in this post-game interview–same ol’ crazy Ron-Ron–at least on the court, they seemed to pay huge dividends.

And for Artest and the world champion Lakers, that’s all that that could possibly matter.

(Oh, wait! Something else that apparently matters is that his new single ‘Champions’ is coming out soon.  He mentioned that in the interview, too.  So yea…Just, you know, go out and, uh, buy his new single.  Get some ‘Champions’ in your life!  CHAMPIONS!!!!)

Here’s the interview:

photo via