Ron Artest

Metta World Peace/Ron Artest

Metta World Peace (born Ronald William Artest, Jr., November 13, 1979) is an American professional basketball player who is currently with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). World Peace gained a reputation as one of the league's premier defenders as he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004. He was a major participant in the Pacers–Pistons brawl and is known for his sometimes eccentric, outspoken behavior.

World Peace was publicly known as Ron Artest until legally changing his name in September 2011.

Metta World Peace was born Ronald William Artest, Jr., and raised in the Queensbridge projects in Queens, New York. He has two younger brothers, Isaiah and Daniel. He played high school basketball at La Salle Academy and college basketball at St. John's University from 1997–1999. In 1999, he helped the Red Storm to the Elite Eight, losing to Ohio State. He gained fame playing in some of New York City's high profile summer basketball tournaments at Nike Pro City, Hoops in the Sun at Orchard Beach, Bronx, New York and Dyckman Park at Washington Heights, earning himself nicknames such as Tru Warier and The New World Order, a name he received from Randy Cruz (one of the co-founders of the Hoops In The Sun basketball league at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, New York).

As a teenager, he was teamed with future NBA players Elton Brand and Lamar Odom on the same Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team.

Metta World Peace/Ron Artest

Growing up in a rough neighborhood, he witnessed the death of a fellow player on a basketball court. "It was so competitive, they broke a leg from a table and they threw it, it went right through his heart and he died right on the court. So I'm accustomed to playing basketball really rough." The player to whom Artest was referring was 19-year-old Lloyd Newton, who was stabbed in the back with a broken-off table leg during an altercation at a 1991 YMCA-sanctioned basketball tournament.

In July 2009, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Artest to a five-year deal worth about $33 million. Artest chose the number 37 jersey, which he said was in honor of Michael Jackson. Jackson's Thriller album was at No. 1 on the charts for 37 straight weeks.

Metta World Peace/Ron Artest

In Game 5 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals, Artest hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer after grabbing a last second offensive rebound. He scored 25 points against the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 and went to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. In the finals, the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics, four games to three. Artest scored 20 points in the clincher and sank the team's last field goal – a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter – to virtually seal the victory. Afterwards, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson called Artest the most valuable player of Game 7 against the Celtics. He won his first championship ring with the Lakers.

For the 2010–2011 season, Artest switched back to number 15, his college number at St. John’s and the first number he wore in his NBA career.

Metta World Peace/Ron Artest

Metta World Peace/Ron Artest

On April 26, 2011, Artest won the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.

Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace during the offseason. He came into training camp for the 2011–12 season out of shape. Consequently, new Lakers coach Mike Brown moved World Peace to a reserve role with reduced playing time. World Peace lamented that Brown's coaching style placed too much emphasis on statistics.

On April 22, 2012, in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, World Peace elbowed James Harden in the head as he was celebrating a dunk. He received a flagrant foul 2 and was immediately ejected. Harden stayed on the floor for several minutes and left the game for evaluation. Harden was later found to have suffered a concussion.

Metta World Peace/Ron Artest

Metta World Peace/Ron Artest