Ron Artest’s Rankings: 1) Kobe, 2) Durant

Tru Warier says his teammate and the guy in Oklahoma are the two top dogs in the NBA. No mention of LeBron. Controversy! Sigh … ESPN has the quotes: “If you ask the Los Angeles Lakers’ Ron Artest, the biggest NBA signing of the summer wasn’t LeBron James leaving Cleveland to go to Miami as a free agent; it was Kevin Durant extending his contract with the Thunder to stay in Oklahoma City. ‘He’s the second best player in the NBA,’ Artest said of Durant, ranking the youngest scoring champion in league history behind only teammate Kobe Bryant. ‘Kobe’s got five rings, six game winners [last season], 23-straight points in [Game 5 of the Finals] off mostly jump shots,’ Artest elaborated. ‘[He’s] the biggest shot maker, big shot maker. So, that said, Durant’s the second best player in the NBA.’ When asked where James ranks on his list, Artest excluded the back-to-back MVP from consideration. ‘I only count to two,’ Artest said. ‘I’ve been out of school 15 years, so I only count to two.'”