'Let's play 1-on-1 for the award' - Ron Artest fired back at Gregg Popovich saying Bruce Brown deserved 2004 DPOY

It was hard to agree with Pop's argument

Though Bowen and Artest were two of the best defenders of their generation, it was difficult to side with Popovich on his take on the 2004 DPOY winner. Numbers-wise, Artest beat Bowen, who finished that season third in the league in steals per game with 2.1. On the other hand, Bruce only logged one steal per outing.

However, Popovich centered his argument around the intangibles, emphasizing Bowen's ability to affect the opposing team's best player's scoring efficiency. While that makes sense, Pop's comments could be deemed subjective rather than objective and factual, considering Bowen was his player.

Artest blamed the media

Regardless of what Popovich thought of Artest, the truth remains that prime Ron was a beast in his own right. However, the polarizing All-Star forward believed the media, like Popovich, refused to give him the credit he deserved simply because he wasn't an NBA poster boy like Michael Jordan or Tim Duncan.

"Back in the days, media was different. It was all corporate—there wasn't social media—and it was one message for the most part," Artest said. "So when I was playing, I was very disruptive. Nobody really understood that. If you wasn't Michael Jordan or Tim Duncan, you was considered thug, gangster. That's not the case with everyone."

In retrospect, Artest's journey to NBA stardom was not only defined by his defensive prowess but also by a series of controversial incidents that have resulted in his bad rap. Nevertheless, many still view Ron as one of the most multi-talented players of his time, but perhaps not for Popovich.