“Happy that Jesus Christ didn’t let me lose my teeth when I was 20”: Kobe Bryant’s teammate had a weird yet hysterical answer to why he changed his name

Kobe Bryant had some great teammates in LA over the years, but none more hilarious than this one.

Metta Sandiford-Artest aka Metta World Peace aka Ron Artest has had many names throughout his 18-year basketball career.

But none gave the NBA’s most notorious player enough peace to keep his inner demons under control so that he could be his usual fun-loving and God preaching self.

You must have come across the troublesome Artest during his many on-court fights including the Malice at The Palace.

Also read: Kobe Bryant, who copied Michael Jordan for 20 years, claims his 4 airballs felt good in Lakers Playoff debut

That fun guy Ron might be a familiar persona to a lot of fans in LA who witnessed him burying one of the most important shots in Lakers’ and Kobe Bryant’s legacy. That came following a Kobe pass. Yes, a pass by the Mamba in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Coming back to Ron, have you come across the good-boy or rather God’s boy Artest? Go on, you can now.

The man who got a pass from Kobe Bryant and hit the target in the most significant game of all is just a simple and hysterical Lord-praising human

In a hilarious interview with the Los Angeles Times back in those glorious days of the Lakers the 2004 DPOY can be seen answering a question which was about his first name change when he made it Metta World Peace from Ron Artest.

Wondering in his own world, Metta started talking something about how grateful he is that Jesus made human beings in such a way that they lose teeth when they are kids and not 20-30 years old because they’d look ugly. He actually said all that. Listen to it yourself and try not to laugh.

That was some otherworldly rib-tickling stuff which didn’t make much sense in regards to the reporter’s question, but was actually a superb point made by the Lord praising Lakers forward, if you really think about it.

Also read: “No more coming into camp fat and out of shape!”: Kobe Bryant mocked 340-pound Shaquille O’Neal who wanted to be the face of the Lakers

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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