“I couldn’t make it out of bed” – Ron Artest reveals the Knicks could have drafted him if it wasn’t for a nasty hangover originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Ron Artest was born and raised in New York and admittedly lived and breathed Knicks basketball growing up in Queensbridge. He had a real shot at joining his hometown team in the 1999 NBA Draft, but that opportunity slipped away after a night of heavy drinking.
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“I remember when I was trying out for the Knicks coming out for the draft, I actually missed my first workout because I got drunk the night before,” Artest told the “Knicks Fan TV” podcast. “I think I would have been a Knick… I couldn’t make it out of bed.”
Artest, now known as Metta Sandiford-Artest, was selected by the Chicago Bulls 16th overall in the 1999 class. The Knicks, armed with the 15th pick, chose Fredric Weis from France. The Big Apple native admitted he had no regrets about everything, but joining the Knicks would’ve been as close to a basketball fairy tale as it gets for New York fans.
Artest’s drinking history
Artest was open about his struggles with alcohol both during and after his playing career. His background exposed him to violence, drugs, and booze, so it’s natural for him to fall back into it.
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“When I was a 19-year-old father, whew,” Artest said, “I was a single pimp! I was wild. A lot of marijuana and alcohol — even before [that age]. … I [still] party and I have fun, but not like I used to. I used to drink every night and party every night.”
Given his lifestyle at the time, it’s no surprise he showed up hungover for a workout. Moreover, Artest revealed he had been drinking during halftime during games as a Bull when he was dealing with personal issues.
“I had a moment in Chicago when I went through a lot and I walked up to the liquor store. I put some Hennessy in my locker room and I chugged it back. I was at a point where I didn’t care about anything. It was bad; I was a little bit intoxicated,” Artest told Kevin Hart on “Cold as Balls” with an awkward chuckle.
The 2004 Defensive Player of the Year said his mental health struggles stemmed from being young and famous and not being equipped to handle the spotlight at that age. Artest reflected on how the pressure fueled a cycle of poor decisions and frustration that often got the better of him.
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In hindsight, he felt his time with the Bulls was solid, but it could have been much better had he made wiser choices.
Revisiting the 1999 NBA Draft
A noteworthy tidbit on this story was the guy the Knicks drafted one spot ahead of Artest. New York took a seven-foot French center with a German name, who was supposed to be a solid prospect. No one could have predicted that Weis would be on the short end of a Vince Carter poster a year later in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, essentially ending his NBA career.
On a more positive note, the 1999 batch was often overlooked as among the best classes in history. Besides Artest, who became an All-Star, a champion, and a DPOY, the draft had Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Steve Francis, and Baron Davis, to name a few.
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Fifteen first-rounders played at least 10 years, with Artest, Brand, and Miller playing 17 productive seasons and Terry 19. The draft also produced nine All-Stars and two of the best that came off the bench, Manu Ginobili and Lamar Odom.
Interestingly, a 1999 mock draft had Odom at number one overall to the Bulls (while correctly predicting Ron as the 16th pick). That didn’t pan out as Chicago opted to take Brand, but there was a real possibility that the two New Yorkers could have been on the same team.
An Artest-Odom tandem in Chicago would’ve been a fascinating experiment. Both were wildly talented and volatile, a pairing that could’ve changed everything or unraveled just as fast. Given Artest’s hangover story, either outcome feels equally plausible.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.