Ron Artest Announces Winner of His Championship Ring

Earlier this year, Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers announced that he was going to give away his championship ring he'd just earned.

Everyone thought the idea was crazy, but Ron Artest was dead serious. He held a raffle and raised more than $500,000 for his Xcel University charity to benefit at-risk youth in terms of mental health. Artest got the idea after he shouted out his psychiatrist after Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. People laughed, but Artest hopes that people take mental health issues seriously.

"It's a good feeling, because it got a lot of publicity, and that's cool," Artest told the Associated Press before the Laker-Heat game on Christmas Day. "I'm glad we can start over now and do some more work with charities."

After the game, Artest announced that the winner of the raffle was Raymond Mikkael of Hawthorne, California. The entire event motivates Artest to do the whole thing again next year, starting with winning another championship with the Lakers.

"I'm so anxious to get out at it again," Artest said. "I get more fuel, I burn it all up. I'm motivated."

According to the Associated Press, the ring contains a piece of the ball used in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics; has a circumference of 16 oversized white diamonds representing the Lakers' titles and two championship trophies made of 16-karat gold. One side of the ring is a 3D-likeness of the player it was given to.