Background and career
Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr., November 13, 1979), formerly known as Ron Artest and Metta World Peace, is an American former professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is considered one of the most feared perimeter “lockdown” defenders in NBA history. He played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft. In 2001, he signed with the Indiana Pacers, where he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and was also named an NBA All-Star in 2004. Later that year, he was involved in a fight between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, and was suspended for the remainder of the 2004–05 season, the longest suspension for on-court misconduct in NBA history. Weeks after the start of the 2005–06 season, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings, and spent the 2008–09 season with the Houston Rockets. In 2009, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, and helped the team win the NBA championship in 2010.
In 2013, he signed with the New York Knicks. After a year of hiatus from the NBA, he returned to the Lakers in 2015 before retiring in 2017.
Metta Sandiford-Artest was born Ronald William Artest Jr. on November 13, 1979, and raised in Queensbridge in Long Island City, Queens, New York. He has two younger brothers, Isaiah and Daniel. He played high school basketball at La Salle Academy. He also teamed with future NBA players Elton Brand and Lamar Odom on the same Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team. Growing up, Artest witnessed the killing of a fellow player, 19-year-old Lloyd Newton, on a basketball court in Niagara Falls, New York, during an altercation at a 1991 YMCA-sanctioned basketball tournament. Artest recalled the incident during an interview in 2009: "I remember one time, one of my friends, he was playing basketball and they were winning the game. It was so competitive, they broke a leg from a table and they threw it and it went right through his heart and he died right on the court. So I'm accustomed playing basketball really rough."
College career Artest played college basketball at St. John's University from 1997 to 1999. At St. John's, he majored in mathematics. In 1999, he led the Red Storm to a 14–4 record in the Big East Conference and 28–9 overall and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division I Tournament, losing to Ohio State.
How Metta Sandiford-Artest makes money
In 2001, he signed with the Indiana Pacers, where he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and was also named an NBA All-Star in 2004. In 2009, he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, and helped the team win the NBA championship in 2010.
