When Metta World Peace signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009, his name was still Ron Artest and was known more for his bad behavior on and off the court than his contributions to his basketball team. But a lot changed for the then 30-year-old, 10-year NBA vet.
It was almost as if a fresh start was what he needed to get his life back on track. After the 2008-09 season concluded, the Rockets attempted to reshuffle their lineup around Yao Ming, and that plan didn’t include World Peace. This seemed to be an eye-opening event that spurred him to make perhaps the best decision of his career; take an undervalued deal to play with the Lakers. He recently went on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast and described that fateful decision.
Metta World Peace On Signing With The Lakers
“When the Rockets said they wouldn’t bring me back, I was surprised. I wanted to stay. Then my agent said the Lakers wanted to meet. Dr. Buss said, ‘We can’t pay you what you’re worth, but we’d love to have you.’ I didn’t care about the money. I just thought about Kobe [Bryant], Phil [Jackson], and Lamar [Odom]—like this was my chance. The Bulls were my favorite team growing up, but now I was joining the Lakers, a team I admired. I felt like I had sabotaged my career, and now the basketball gods were giving me one more shot.”
The 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.
World Peace didn’t have the best year of his career statistically but was one of the big reasons the Lakers were able to win their first NBA Championship in seven seasons and win it all the next year as well. his biggest contribution may have come in the playoffs.
In a pivotal Game 5 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns, Artest delivered a game-winning buzzer-beater after securing an offensive rebound. He continued his strong playoff performance with a 25-point effort in Game 6, propelling the Lakers to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2004.
In the Finals against the Boston Celtics, Artest played a crucial role, scoring 20 points in the decisive Game 7. His three-pointer late in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Lakers, securing their championship title. Head coach Phil Jackson even went so far as to name Artest the MVP of Game 7.
