The summer before he signed with the Lakers and became Metta World Peace, Ron Artest battled the Purple and Gold in a tightly contested seven-game series. That Western Conference semifinals series between the Rockets and Kobe Bryant’s Lakers saw Artest receive ejections in two consecutive games.
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During his appearance on ‘Byron Scott’s Fast Break’ podcast, Metta Sandiford-Artest touched on that series and the first of his ejections.
“The one with Kobe, you know, I just expected the ref — I know he [Bryant] is going to get calls, but when you blatantly see the elbow, I just felt like it wasn’t fair. So, if the ref wasn’t going to handle it, I said, ‘Cool, I’ll just handle it.’”
The moment he’s referring to came during the fourth quarter of Game 2. LA held a 10-point lead on Houston with 7 minutes remaining. Yao Ming was backing down Pau Gasol in the post but a battle was brewing on the other side of the basket where Bryant and Artest vied for positioning.
Kobe was up against a former Defensive Player of the Year — the only non big to win the award since 1996 — and as Artest used his strength to push him away, Bryant threw a vicious elbow into the small forward’s face.
“All I did was go up to Kobe and say, my brother, you know, ‘That was wrong’. And I was upset at him,’” the 45-year-old recalled. But his manner of expression bothered Joey Crawford enough to earn him an ejection.
It was certainly a moment of poor officiating as the referees called an offensive foul on Artest when it was Bryant who elbowed him. Then again, it might have been Artest’s desire to stand up for himself that attracted the Lakers’ interest that summer.
The Lakers would beat the Rockets in 7 and end their campaign lifting the Larry O’Brien. A few months later, Phil Jackson signed Artest to the Lakers, where they would win the 2010 NBA championship together.
Bryant knew how to motivate Metta World Peace
During his stint with the Lakers, Metta wasn’t the same player he was during his Indiana days. His role on Phil Jackson’s team was simple — to protect the franchise superstar, Kobe.
As the enforcer, Metta World Peace, as he was known in LA, spaced the floor, moved the ball and most importantly, brought defensive intensity to the roster.
However, there were a stretch of games where the wing was playing more timid than usual. Bryant, knowing that Artest’s value came from his tenacity, asked him why he was playing less aggressive.
“He says, ‘Oh man, you know, I’m not trying to upset anybody,‘” Kobe shared in a later interview. “I said, ‘Your name is Metta World Peace right? How do you think peace is accomplished?…Through war.‘”
Perhaps that’s why Bryant found his tactics, like the elbow against Artest, to be fair game.
