Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest, played in the championship-winning Lakers team with Kobe Bryant between 2009 and 2013 and returned for a second stint from 2015 to 2017. Additionally, Artest is a player with an incredibly kind heart, who won the faith of his Chinese fans during a tour in Wuhan in 2009. There, Artest met a 15-year-old kid, Zheng Fengyu, who impressed the Lakers star with his basketball skills.
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Zheng was from a poor family in Wuhan, which is known for being a heavily industrialized city in central China. Realizing Zheng’s brilliant potential in basketball, Artest donated his $45,000 (around 300,000 yuan) diamond watch to help support the teenager’s education. Speaking highly of the young fella, Artest commented,
“He is great. Never let me shoot easily. Hope this can help realize his basketball dream.”
The young kid was extremely happy upon receiving such a precious gift from the NBA star. Expressing his appreciation, Zheng told CCTV, “August 14th is my birthday, this is just the perfect gift for me.” Like the United States, the craze for basketball in China is insane.
Since the rise of Yao Ming, who became an NBA legend and later a Hall of Famer, several Chinese kids and youth dreamt of realizing this same aspiration while playing basketball. Surely, this precious gift from Ron Artest must have given young Zheng Fengyu a much-needed boost in advancing his playing career and academic pursuits.
Ron Artest chooses Kobe Bryant over LeBron James for the GOAT debate
Besides the Michael Jordan vs LeBron James debate, the comparison between LBJ and Kobe was a wildfire in the early 2000s and 2010s. Bryant and James were perhaps two of the best players to grace the game together in the last 50 years. While both have equal claims to hold the title of the GOAT in the debate, different players and personalities take varied sides in choosing their picks.
Metta World Peace was Kobe Bryant’s teammate at the Lakers and had won a championship with the Mamba in 2010 together. While picking his side for the GOAT debate, Artest had some credible points to attest to LeBron James’ greatness. He said,
“They pose different problems, I think it’s about even. Bron is faster and stronger, and he’s playing the game. He’s controlling everybody. Whereas Kobe is just gonna kill you. So, it’s two different problems.”
While it may seem like Artest is choosing to be neutral, a singular statement from the former Lakers player makes us believe he is siding with his teammate. Essentially, Artest tried claiming that Kobe and LeBron are both two sides of the same coin.
As a teammate, Kobe Bryant significantly impacted molding Artest’s style of play. During the 2009-10 campaign, when it seemed like Artest had become more docile than his usual aggressive self, a simple pep talk from Bryant was enough to rekindle the spark. The result was Artest and Bryant together winning the 2010 NBA championship, marking the Lakers’ 16th banner in the NBA.
