Tag: Ron Artest

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby trolls Detroit by showing up to stadium in Ron Artest Pacers jersey

Some elite level trolling by Maxx Crosby as he arrived at Ford Field tonight to face the Lions.

Oh, this is good. Maxx Crosby showed up Monday Night to Ford Field in Detroit sporting a vintage Ron Artest Indiana Pacers jersey. This is elite level trolling by Maxx.

Some people will recognize right off the significance of this. But for others, it may require some explaining.

Artest — who later changed his name to Meta World Peace — was known for being one of the most violent players in NBA history. And his most infamous moments came in Detroit in what was quickly nicknamed the “Malice at the Palace.”

The Palace at Auburn Hills was the name of the Pistons’ arena.

Late in the game with the Pacers leading 97-92, Artest laid a hard foul on Pistons center Ben Wallace from behind, leading to Wallace retaliating against Artest. A fight immediately broke out between both teams and was eventually broken up.

While awaiting official word from the officials, Artest was laying down on the scorer’s table and a fan in the stands threw a drink and hit Artest. Artest jumped up and ran into the stands to go after the fan he suspected had thrown it (narrator: he attacked the wrong guy).

As you might expect, this escalated in a huge brawl involving fans in the stands and players from both teams. And even led to Artest punching another Pistons fan.

The game was called off, and the police had to stop it as well as escort the Pacers team out of the arena.

You can see video footage HERE.

Nine players would receive lengthy suspensions and significant fines for their part in the brawl, with five players and five fans all brought up on assault charges.

So, yeah, it would seem Crosby is sending a message with his wardrobe for tonight. He has some malice in mind. Though, that part would be nothing new.

Metta Sandiford-Artest learned golf from a Lakers legend, shows love for game at 2023 U.S. Open

“I think golf is a sport for me,” said Sandiford-Artest, who learned the game from a Lakers legend.

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LOS ANGELES – With a U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club, celebrities were bound to come out and catch the action off Wilshire Boulevard.

But Justin Thomas was surprised to see one particular person following his Tuesday practice round alongside Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and amateur Michael Brennan.

“I was like, damn, I didn’t think I’d get to see Metta World Peace today,” he said with a laugh.

The former NBA champion and All-Star was known as both Ron Artest and Metta World Peace, but now goes by Metta Sandiford-Artest. The 43-year-old spent 17 seasons in the NBA with six different teams, but 18 months ago found the game of golf thanks to another former basketball player, none other than three-time champion and Los Angeles Lakers legend “Big Game James” Worthy.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know NBA players’ names, let alone these guys,” said Sandiford-Artest. “I love basketball, but I really love golf now. I’m so happy I found the sport. Really, really happy I found the sport.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CskVi31LWmD/?hl=en

The New York native and St. John’s product freely admits he isn’t very good, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking advantage of every opportunity to play that he can.

“I’ve been getting invited to play at different places, so I’m showing up to any course I can play at, especially a good course,” he said with a laugh. “If people invite me anywhere, like Bermuda, I’ll go play.”

Sandiford-Artest is really just happy he can get his ball in the air and going straight for once, noting how “My first year and a half, everything was scraping the floor.” A Lakers star in his own right and way, Sandiford-Artest won his only title with the team in 2010 and plans to come catch the action this week at the ultra-exclusive club tucked away in Beverly Hills.

“I like it because you have to focus. If you fall asleep, the balls are gonna turn right or left on you. So you can focus and compete, and you’re competing against yourself for the most part, which I really love.

“I think golf is a sport for me.”

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Metta World Peace, Robert Horry, don’t believe LeBron’s era is ‘soft’

Robert Horry believes LeBron James should also be the Finals MVP because of his consistency in the series for the Lakers.

There seems to be yet another new narrative forming to discredit the excellence of LeBron James in advance of winning his 4th championship. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith got the ball rolling earlier this week when he said that LeBron James will never surpass Michael Jordan in his view because James played in what he called “the softest era” in NBA history. Players of today would rightfully challenge that assertion, but some other NBA legends are here to say that isn’t true either.

Lakers legend Metta World Peace went on twitter on Friday morning to say that LeBron’s era is not the softest, reminding many that his era was also LeBron’s era. I don’t think anybody would call World Peace/Ron Artest soft.

Also on Friday, seven-time NBA champion and Spectrum SportsNet L.A. commentator Robert Horry told Dan Patrick that he doesn’t understand why LeBron’s accomplishments are constantly discredited. Horry also told Patrick he belives the 2020 Finals MVP will go to LeBron.

“I have to go with LeBron because of the bad game that AD had. To be the MVP of the Finals, you can’t have a bad game. Plus LeBron got snubbed on the season MVP in my opinion and there’s no way he won’t lose this one. He’s probably going to have a phenomenal game tonight and he’s going to be MVP.”

Metta World Peace on Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving tandem: ‘It’s hard to see them two losing’

Nets fans have to wait until 2020-21 to see Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving work together. Metta World Peace thinks it’ll be worth the wait.

Even if Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had elected to make a triumphant comeback at Disney World in Orlando when the NBA resumes the 2019-20 season in late July, 2020-21 is expected to be the big year for the Nets tandem.

With one of the best players in the NBA dawning a Brooklyn uniform, along with one of the best point guards in the game, joined by a supporting cast of Caris LeVert, DeAndre Jordan, Joe Harris and more, they’re expected to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, if not the best.

Because of the two players atop the Nets organization, four-time NBA All-Defensive team member Metta World Peace only sees winning in Brooklyn’s future, as he explained to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio podcast:

They both shoot well off the ball and they both can attack closeouts. They’re going to be fine. Kyrie is an ideal player because he can catch and shoot. That puts him on another level and he needs somebody like Durant. I mean, he tried to win it by himself and he wasn’t having no success, right? So he needs Durant, and it will be very hard with those two healthy. I don’t know. It’s hard to see them two losing. I don’t know how it happens.

RELATED: Metta World Peace on Kyrie Irving: ‘Just do what you wanna do’

Metta World Peace on Kyrie Irving: ‘Just do what you wanna do’

Metta World Peace feels Kyrie Irving needs to do what he deems right regarding the NBA’s resumption of play, no matter what others do.

Although Kyrie Irving isn’t the only player who doesn’t want the NBA to resume the 2019-20 season in late July at Disney World in Orlando because he’s concerned it will distract people from the Black Lives Matter movement, he has received more criticism than anyone for taking this stance.

Some feel the awareness of social injustice is not an excuse to stop working. Others think Irving needs to have a greater plan than the one he’s produced so far. There are even some who think the Brooklyn point guard is doing all of this because he isn’t allowed to travel with the Nets to Orlando.

Metta World Peace told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio podcast, “Everybody handles it differently,” when addressing Irving’s situation. At the same time, the retired NBA forward would not be on the same side as the Nets point guard if he were still playing:

The minute you move a mountain, I’m bringing my whole hood with me. I don’t need anybody to validate if I’m going to do that. I was telling people that I’m from the ‘hood in a corporate world, guys making a stand and having experience in the streets,’ I did it. From my hood, I just did it. And people still remember that to this day; people don’t even know why they like me…’cause I’ve been doing this for a long time. Because I just did it and somebody like Kyrie Irving should just do it. You don’t need anybody; you’re a big-time player. Just do what you wanna do. Whatever you think is right, we’re with you. But me personally, I would’ve played. Because I’m obsessed with the [expletive] game. I definitely would’ve played, maybe cussed a few people out, but nothing in the NBA is crazier than the issue that are happening; how I would’ve spoke would’ve been different. These [expletive] is nice. I remember the ‘I Can’t Breathe’ issue. [Expletive], we needed something stronger than that. We gotta say something. So, you know, I get the peaceful protests versus the ignorant or violent protests. But you got to let people know sometimes. I know that we are not entirely but it’s still an outrage.

RELATED: Why Matt Barnes is questioning Kyrie Irving

RELATED: Stephen Jackson: Kyrie Irving ‘understands this moment’

Morey says Westbrook, Ron Artest are most misunderstood Rockets

“If you know him, you like him,” Rockets GM Daryl Morey says of Westbrook’s personality. “Russell is such a sweet guy.”

In his 14 years with the Rockets, veteran Houston GM Daryl Morey says Russell Westbrook and Ron Artest are the NBA two players where the broader perception was most misaligned with reality.

Morey spoke Tuesday with the “Mason & Ireland” show on ESPN Los Angeles. When asked about Westbrook’s demeanor, Morey said:

If you know him, you like him. Russell is on my list, top two players who when they came to the Rockets, people had some negative opinions of that just didn’t line up at all. Russell is such a sweet guy. Ron Artest is the other. You had heard all these things, and he was the sweetest, nicest guy. There’s just some guys in the league where you don’t understand how some people have this negative opinion of them. Russell is just a really nice guy.

Westbrook was surly with the media at times during his time in Oklahoma City, but that hasn’t been the case in Houston. Both current and former teammates have raved about his qualities in the locker room.

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Recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in 2020) cited Westbrook as a shining example of American character for his relief efforts in Houston, Los Angeles, and beyond.

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Artest — who later changed his name to Metta World Peace — only played one year in Houston during the 2008-09 season. But he was a key cog for the first Rockets team to win a playoff series in more than a decade.

Artest missed 86 games early in his NBA career due to an altercation in Detroit, which remains the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history. But he was a model citizen in Houston, with Morey and the Rockets raving about his qualities both on and off the court.

Reggie Miller opens up on Malice at the Palace, 15 years later

It’s the 15th anniversary of the Pacers and Pistons fight at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

On November 19th, 2004, a fight erupted in the final minute of a lopsided Pacers-Pistons game, and escalated into one of the ugliest scenes in modern NBA history.

Ben Wallace took issue with a foul from Ron Artest, now Metta World Peace, and responded with a hard shove to Artest’s chest. Moments later, just as the teams seemed to be separating, a fan launched a cup of beer toward the group of players, which hit Artest in the chest. Artest then jumped into the stands and attacked a fan, and other Pacers jumped over seats to back him up. In all, the resulting suspensions cost the involved players a total of 146 games, led by Artest, who was suspended for the remainder of the season.

15 years later, Reggie Miller – who did not play for the Pacers that night but earned a 1-game suspension for entering the stands – recapped the chaos during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show. Miller said that the Pacers weren’t concerned for their safety leaving the arena that night, but there was talk of “assassins” when Indiana returned later in the season. That game was delayed after multiple bomb threats were called into the Palace.

“When we played them again and had to come to the Palace, that’s when the issues of safety [arose], because people were calling in bomb threats. There were supposed to be hitmen and assassins, it was, like, crazy. We had to stay on the bus – I’m not kidding you – two hours, we couldn’t even go into the Palace the next time we came to play the Pistons because there were so many bomb scares. The police presence was unbelievable.”

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