People may not realize it, but Metta World Peace, earlier known as Ron Artest, is one of the biggest what ifs of all time. Before November of 2004, he was an ascending star, a young player growing through the floor of the Indiana Pacers’ aging core. After November of 2004, he was under immense scrutiny, a danger to the league according to the NBA, and the closest thing the NBA had to a heel.
Advertisement
What happened during that fateful month? The infamous Malice at the Palace! A soda thrown by a fan hit Artest, and he chased the fan up into the stands, leading to one of the worst brawls in American Sports history. Was he justified? One could argue he was. But the league and David Stern did not hinge their consequential decisions on the justifications of the act.
While that moment was the focal moment of his basketball life, he did find ways to bounce back. After being suspended for the entire year, Artest would request a trade. A few years later, he would return to an All-Defensive team level in 2006 as well as in 2009, and only a year after that, he would win an NBA title with Kobe Bryant.
While the two did not have much of a relationship when the former joined the Los Angeles Lakers, through months of fighting against each other, their combined pressure created a diamond both on and off the court. Metta joined the PBD Podcast to discuss his past.
“It’s not a lot of banter going back and forth with Kobe,” started Artest, “We didn’t have a relationship and he’s aware that I can’t wait to get to practice, because he knows me. He knows I’ve got that fire, that’s why he brought me. He has to know that I’m bringing it the first possession of our first practice.”
That infamous first practice, as Artest revealed, saw Metta and Kobe matching up against each other for two straight hours. “So now we’re going against each other, so we’re not in the starting group together yet… he played very well, but I was also very physical on him. He scored but it was definitely something to watch.”
That practice wasn’t the only one. As competitors, Bryant and Artest would always clash, either to prove themselves stronger than the other or simply to reach their level. Iron sharpened iron and the two made each other better, without friction or fighting, but with aggression, as the latter put it.
“There was one incident,” he remembered, “Kobe was playing really well, he was getting under my skin. Phil Jackson was getting under my skin. And then, I was telling the team, you know, last year, if Yao Ming didn’t break his foot, we would’ve beat all of ya.’ and then Phil was like ‘calm down, Ron.'”
Metta’s disruption did not fall on deaf ears, though. While Phil Jackson held himself back from jawing at Artest, something he did not frequently do, “I think Kobe wanted to push my buttons because I seen him snickering in the back when I was going at Phil… but that was the only day where we addressed that I just came from the Rockets and now I’m here… They beat us, but we were the only team to take them to seven.”
Ultimately, it’s not hyperbolic to say that the move to the Lakers saved Artest’s life. As much as people remember the promising young player whose career imploded after the most pivotal moment in early 2000s basketball history, they now must also remember the elder statesman who propelled the Lakers to their 16th title.
