Metta Sandiford-Artest (previously known as Ron Artest) is among the most controversial players in NBA history. He didn’t care about the public perception around him during his initial days and wasn’t afraid to indulge in wild antics.
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During a December 2009 interview with Sporting News, the then Los Angeles Lakers forward revealed that he used to drink Hennessey at half-time when he was a part of the Chicago Bulls from 1999 to 2002.
The 2004 All-Star admitted that he was a “head case” at the beginning of his NBA career, which contributed to his eccentric behavior. Artest confessed that he always kept a bottle of Hennessey in his locker and consumed it during the halftime break.
Artest told Sporting News in 2009,
“I used to drink Hennessy at halftime. I [kept it] in my locker. I’d just walk to the liquor store and get it.”
The casual alcohol consumption in the locker room summed up his attitude. As a youngster, the former Bulls forward was irritable and couldn’t control his temperament all the time. His attitude would change after his infamous involvement in the ‘Malice at the Palace’ incident.
The Chicago Bulls had drafted Artest as the #9 pick in the 1999 Draft. He walked into a struggling roster without Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen at the helm, who had left the team during the 1998 offseason.
The Bulls had a miserable 17-65 record during Artest’s rookie year. They’d win just 15 games during his sophomore year and by the middle of his third season, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers.
Therefore, he drowned his frustrations with alcohol, which may have worsened his personal situation. At any rate, Artest wasn’t the only Bulls player who consumed alcohol at halftime. It was rampant in the team’s culture in the preceding eras as well.
Michael Jordan inherited a drug-addicted Bulls locker room
During the 1980s, it was common for players to consume drugs, smoke cigarettes, and drink alcohol in the locker room. When a rookie Michael Jordan entered the Bulls locker room in 1984, he was shocked by how openly players displayed their addiction.
During his 2020 The Last Dance docuseries, Michael Jordan revealed,
“When I first joined the team, they was drinking beer at half and smoking cigarettes. And you know what? See, they were getting the cigarettes from the coaches.”
The habit continued even during the 1990s. But after stringent drug policies, players took to alcohol in the locker room. Both Jordan and Pippen have confessed to having a beer or two before some exhibition games.
The situation wasn’t as prolific as the 1980s, but it can be argued that Artest inherited a locker room where drinking was seen as routine.
