Metta Sandiford-Artest
Metta Sandiford-Artest, previously legally named Metta World Peace, is an American former professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He is considered one of the most feared perimeter “lockdown” defenders in NBA history. Under the name Ron Artest, he played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft.
In 2001, he signed with the Indiana Pacers, where he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and was also named an NBA All-Star in 2004. Later that year, he was involved in a fight between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, and was suspended for the remainder of the 2004–05 season, the longest suspension for on-court misconduct in NBA history. Weeks after the start of the 2005–06 season, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings, and spent the 2008–09 season with the Houston Rockets. In 2009, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, and helped the team win the NBA championship in 2010.
In 2011, Artest legally changed his name to Metta World Peace, and continued to play with the Lakers until 2013, when he signed with the New York Knicks. After a year of hiatus from the NBA, he returned to the Lakers for his final seasons in 2015 before retiring in 2017. In 2020, he changed his name to Metta Sandiford-Artest.
Early life
Metta Sandiford-Artest was born Ronald William Artest Jr. on November 13, 1979, and raised in Queensbridge in Long Island City, Queens, New York. He has two younger brothers, Isaiah and Daniel. He played high school basketball at La Salle Academy. He also teamed with future NBA players Elton Brand and Lamar Odom on the same Amateur Athletic Union team.Growing up, Artest witnessed the killing of a fellow player, 19-year-old Lloyd Newton, on a basketball court in Niagara Falls, New York, during an altercation at a 1991 YMCA-sanctioned basketball tournament. Artest recalled the incident during an interview in 2009: "I remember one time, one of my friends, he was playing basketball and they were winning the game. It was so competitive, they broke a leg from a table and they threw it and it went right through his heart and he died right on the court. So I'm accustomed playing basketball really rough."
College career
Artest played college basketball at St. John's University from 1997 to 1999. At St. John's, he majored in mathematics. In 1999, he led the Red Storm to a 14–4 record in the Big East Conference and 28–9 overall and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division I Tournament, losing to Ohio State.Professional career
Chicago Bulls (1999–2002)
Artest was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th pick of the 1999 NBA draft.Artest played a total of 175 games for the Bulls over years, the bulk as a starter, during which time he averaged about 12.5 points and just over four rebounds per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in the 1999–2000 season.
Indiana Pacers (2002–2006)
Midway through the 2001–02 season, Artest was traded by Chicago to the Indiana Pacers along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, and Kevin Ollie, for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a second-round draft pick.On January 27, 2003, Artest got into a verbal altercation with Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley and flashed an obscene gesture into the crowd and was suspended for four games. During the 2003–04 season with the Pacers, he averaged 18.3 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, and 3.7 assists per game. Artest made the 2004 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve and was named the Defensive Player of the Year. He wore three jersey numbers for the Pacers: 15, 23, and 91.
The Malice at the Palace
On November 19, 2004, Artest was at the center of an altercation among players and fans during a game in Auburn Hills, Michigan, between Artest's Pacers and the home team Detroit Pistons. The brawl involved Artest, Pistons center Ben Wallace, Artest's teammates Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson, several other players, and spectators including Pistons fans John Green and A. J. Shackleford.The fight resulted in the game being stopped with less than a minute remaining. O'Neal, Jackson, and Wallace were suspended indefinitely the day after the game. A day later, the NBA suspended Artest for the rest of the regular season, plus any playoff games. Artest missed 86 games, the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history.
Aftermath and trade
After playing 16 games early in the 2005–06 season, Artest demanded a trade from the Indiana Pacers, and he was placed on the team's inactive roster. Artest's call for a trade created a rift between him and his teammates. "We felt betrayed, a little disrespected," teammate Jermaine O'Neal said. As for their basketball relationship, O'Neal added: "The business relationship is over. That's fact." Pacers president Larry Bird said he also felt "betrayed" and "disappointed."On January 24, 2006, reports from NBA sources confirmed that the Sacramento Kings had agreed to trade Peja Stojaković to the Pacers for Artest. However, before the trade could be completed, many press outlets reported that Artest had informed team management that he did not want to go to the Kings. According to Artest's agent, his original trade request was only made because he was upset when he heard rumors that the Pacers were going to trade him to the Kings for Stojaković early in the season. While not denying his agent's story, Artest did deny that he had rejected the trade to Sacramento, saying that he would play anywhere, contradicting earlier press accounts stating Artest was holding up the trade. Given conflicting accounts, it is unclear why the trade was delayed, but it was nonetheless completed on January 25 and Artest was officially sent to the Kings for Stojaković.
Sacramento Kings (2006–2008)
Though traded midseason to the Kings franchise, Artest quickly found his place on the team by providing some much-needed defense. Though many feared his abrasive personality would be a problem, he worked well with his teammates and then-coach Rick Adelman. Artest wore #93 for his jersey number with the Kings. After acquiring Artest in late January 2006, the team immediately went on a 14–5 run, the team's best run of the season. The Kings broke.500 and landed the eighth spot in the Western Conference. This prompted ESPN to declare that "Ron Artest has breathed new life in the Sacramento Kings and enhanced their chances of reaching the playoffs for the ninth straight year." Fox Sports proclaimed, "Artest has Kings back in playoff hunt."He was suspended for Game 2 of the team's first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs following a flagrant foul on Manu Ginóbili. The Kings eventually were eliminated from the playoffs in six games.
After the playoffs, Artest offered to donate his entire salary to keep teammate Bonzi Wells, who became a free agent after the 2005–06 NBA season, with the team. He even jokingly threatened to kill Wells if he did not re-sign with the Kings. Wells was later picked up by the Houston Rockets and then traded to the New Orleans Hornets for former Sacramento Kings player Bobby Jackson. Artest also offered to donate his salary to retain the services of head coach Rick Adelman, whose contract expired after the same season. Adelman and the Kings did not agree on a contract extension so the two parted ways.
Houston Rockets (2008–2009)
On July 29, 2008, it was reported that Artest was to be traded to the Houston Rockets along with Patrick Ewing Jr. and Sean Singletary for Bobby Jackson, recently drafted forward Donté Greene, a 2009 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations. The deal was made official on August 14, due to Greene's rookie contract signing on July 14. In response to the trade, Yao Ming was generally positive, but jokingly expressed hope that Artest is "not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands." In response, Artest said, "This is Tracy and Yao's team, you know. I'm not going to take it personal. I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto. That's not going to change. I'm never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don't think he's ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture."Artest and Yao later exchanged extensive phone calls. Artest also said, "Whatever Adelman needs me to do, whether that's come off the bench, sixth, seventh man, start, I don't even care. Whatever he needs me to do, I'm 100 percent sure it's going to work out."
On October 30, 2008, Artest received his first technical as a Houston Rocket, as he raced towards a group of Dallas Mavericks players and then quickly went to Yao Ming who bumped Josh Howard after play stopped. Artest was trying to pull Yao away from the play and to the foul line, but contact was made with Maverick players. The TNT broadcast crew felt that this technical was unwarranted and reckoned it was based upon Artest's prior reputation as a feisty player in the league. In the playoffs, Artest helped the Rockets advance past the first round for the first time in 12 seasons. In Game 2 of the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers, Artest, who was battling for rebounding position with Kobe Bryant, was elbowed in the neck by Bryant, which was later ruled to be a Type 1 flagrant foul. After being called for an offensive foul, Artest was indignant and proceeded to antagonize Bryant after the play, which eventually led to an ejection by Joe Crawford. In Game 3, Artest was again ejected in the fourth quarter after a hard foul on Pau Gasol, who was attempting to dunk on a fast-break. It was determined the next day that the foul was not serious enough to warrant an ejection, and the flagrant foul was downgraded.