Image via Complex Original
1.
We usually try to do two main things in this space you're reading now: 1) Explain why you should be reading this and 2) Answer what the subject in question does and why is he important. The second part is hard in this case because, you see, Metta World Peace is a man of many trades. He's an alien who likes winning NBA championships. He's a meteorologist who gives vocabulary lessons on occasion. He's a rapper who might fuck around and bring Queensbridge back on the map.
But he's mainly a professional basketball player. He isn't playing in the NBA right now, but his on and off-court greatness as a premier defender and a culture provocateur ensures he won't be forgotten. The eccentricities and surrounding stories almost make him a myth. But he's not. These are facts. Here are 35 Things You Didn't Know About Metta World Peace.
2.He earned nicknames like Tru Warier and The New World Order while playing summer ball in Orchard Beach and Washington Heights.
The wrestling world's nWo needed a stable of grown men to uphold the moniker. Metta World Peace was hard enough on the court to hold it down himself and be twice as intimidating. Randy Cruz, the co-founder of the Hoops In The Sun basketball league World Peace once played in, gave him the nickname.
3.He played on the same AAU team as Elton Brand and Lamar Odom.
World Peace would later win his only NBA championship when he rejoined forces with Odom in Los Angeles. With World Peace a free agent and Odom working his way into an oblivion of drug rumors and divorce, Brand is the only one of the trio who's still active.
4.He wore three numbers with the Indiana Pacers (15, 23, 91).
As great as he was, World Peace had his hang-ups. Keeping his elbows to himself was one. Sticking to one number was another. Being the amorphous being that he is, World Peace wore nine numbers through his NBA career. Three of them, including the Jordan number, came from the Pacers.
5.He was New York City’s co-player of the year after leading La Salle Academy to a 27-0 record.
That was part of a 44-7 record he accrued during two varsity seasons. World Peace was somewhat of a king during his high school days, and that's part of what made his quiet stay with the Knicks much more disappointing. Heddrick McBride was the other co-holder, but he's obviously the lesser known one.
6.On September 6, 2010, World Peace was cited for driving a race car with an expired registration down the street.
"I...didn't know I couldn't do that."
7.He has a workout music video.
Metta World Peace doing a workout video sounds like an excellent idea. Not only does he have the personality, but have you seen the dude's body? That six-pack is to be envied.
But sometimes the idea is way better than the actually product. You probably aren't even capable of pulling some of the moves here (the pull-up guy). Plus, here's a sample lyric: "I don't like to wear tight pants like Kanye/And I don't like to kiss ass like foreplay/That's why I can never do a movie with Beyonce." Then there's this weird "ADRIENNE" outro that doesn't quite do the job of motivating you.
8.He sold his NBA championship ring and donated the proceeds to New York charities.
Keep in mind that World Peace only has one ring to spare. Through the auction, he raised $100,000 and donated $65,000 to Long Island City’s Steinway Child and Family Services plus another $55,000 to The Child Center of New York.
9.He was the first contestant eliminated from season 13 of Dancing With the Stars.
In season 13, Metta World Peace joined a line of pro athletes that includes Jerry Rice, Hines Ward, and Chad Ochocinco. They each finished in the top four or better (Hines Ward actually came in first place). World Peace had no such luck. His Cha Cha and charm wasn't enough to keep him from being the first contestant eliminated from his season.
10.He applied for a job at Circuit City while with the Chicago Bulls during his rookie season to take advantage of the employee discount.
World Peace absolutely needed those employee discounts from the now-defunct electronics store. Being an NBA player didn't quite qualify him for the job, however. Perhaps it's for the best; it would've been a bitch to come up with a work schedule.
11.He once drank Hennessy at halftime while with the Bulls
"I used to drink Hennessy ... at halftime," he said in an interview with the Sporting News. "I [kept it] in my locker. I'd just walk to the liquor store and get it." To be fair, this was when he played for the Chicago Bulls in 1999-2002, when the team wasn't worth much of a damn.
12.He pantsed Paul Pierce in a game and then released a video of him singing Pierce an apology
This might actually be one of the many odd ways World Peace shows his respect. He called Pierce the best trash-talker in the NBA and talked to the New York Post about what it's like playing against with him: "It was wars. It was competitive. I love Paul. I love playing against Paul. He’s just so tough, he’s just so tough." Here's an example of that toughness.
13.He asked for a few months off during the 04-05 season because he was tired from promoting an R&B album.
The album was for the group “Allure” on his Tru Warier production label. The Pacers responded with a two-game suspension. This fact along with World Peace producing the Chapter III are probably the only things notable about Allure's third and final album. Chapter III failed to chart Despite featuring Elephant Man and Joe Budden (still hot off "Pump It Up").
14.He wore No. 37 with the Lakers to honor Michael Jackson, who's hit “Thriller” was no. 1 on the Billboard charts for 37 straight weeks.
Somehow his rationale for wearing that jersey number is actually crazier than this picture.
15.On Dec. 18, 2010, an art show honoring Artest was held in Toronto, Canada entitled "Lovable Badass."
The show featured work by 30 Canadian and American artists, illustrators, painters and sculptors inspired by the athlete. As you can see from the above photo, World Peace was clearly a fan of the exhibit. "It was fun," he said to the National Post. "I didn’t know what to think about it at first. It was definitely special. It was unexpected, overwhelming. It was cool. That was my first major in college, art, actually. Then I dropped it and went into architecture, then I dropped that and went into math. I finished off in math. That’s why I thought it was kind of cool. I didn’t finish my major. To get an exhibit, it was kind of crazy."
16.In October 2012, he guest starred as a special panelist on Nickelodeon's game show Figure It Out.
World Peace appeared on the half-assed revival that lasted for about a year. It would've been doper if he came in the original version that ran from 1997-2000. But alas, World Peace was only a sapling compared to the entity he is now.
17.He released a rap album entitled “My World” featuring P. Diddy, Juvenile, Mike Jones, Big Kap, Nature and Capone.
Despite the features, "My World" only earned two stars on Amazon out of five customer reviews. You guys don't deserve good things.
18.In February 2004, he wore a bathrobe to a Pacers practice as a “symbolic reminder to take it easy.”
Irony is crazy, aint' it? Flash forward to nine months later...
19.He was suspended for three games in 2003 for destroying a television camera at MSG.
To be fair, the Pacers lost that Jan. 3 game to the Knicks. You should be pissed if you lost to the Knicks at any point during the last decade.
20.He planned to shoot a TV show titled They Call Me Crazy but scrapped it fearing it would distract him from helping the Lakers’ repeat.
It's a shame, but it was for the better. Imagine if he had been a distraction and gotten into a clash Kobe Bryant. Those two egos would've burned Staples Center to a crisp as a result. Plus it wasn't a total loss; the weather with Metta World Peace is still A+.
21.He played monopoly and ate a Filipino dessert called halo-halo with random fans at the beach after signing with the Lakers.
Of course he was the only person who was playing shirtless. Why wouldn't he be?
22.His name change to Metta World Peace was originally delayed because he had unpaid speeding tickets.
"Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world. After this short delay, my tickets have been paid and I'm glad that it is now official." Also, yes, that's a souped-up personalized Lakers HYUNDAI.
23.He claims to be a checkers expert and that he has never lost a game in his life.
Because a man as complicated as Metta World Peace needs a simple game to calm his mind.
24.Ron Artest Sr., World Peace’s dad, was a former Golden Gloves boxer and a Navy veteran.
World Peace's father also pushed his youngest son into the sport because he took notice to his son's short temper. You know, the same temper that saw him rack up 74 technicals, seven ejections, and one memorable trip into the stands of The Palace of Auburn Hills.
25.He once got into a fight with AAU teammate Elton Brand.
He fought Elton Brand—his teammate—after getting into a verbal sparring match before a game during layup drills. One second the team is taking place in routine layup lines, the next two future NBA All-Stars are beating up each other in front of an astonished crowd. There goes that temper Artest, Sr. was talking about.
26.He once cracked two of Michael Jordan's ribs during a game of one-on-one.
Doesn't matter if you're the greatest to ever play the sport, if you suit up against Metta World Peace expect things to get physical. Michael Jordan was simply trying to practice and get himself back in shape with a series of secret workouts before his third comeback, and in his very first game against World Peace His Airness was left with multiple cracked ribs. Queensbridge, stand up.
27.He once told a group of kids “Stay focused, and stay away from unknown females.”
Sage advice from a man who says he doesn't believe in two people having sex too early in a relationship, but who also sends dick pics when awkwardly sexting semi-strangers. Complex individual, indeed.
28.He approached Kobe Bryant about helping him win a title in the Lakers' shower...when he wasn't on the Lakers.
After Kobe lost in the 2008 NBA Finals, World Peace ran up on him in the shower and told Kobe they should be teammates. The only problem is World Peace wasn't on the Lakers when he propositioned the naked Mamba. How do we know Kobe was naked? Metta told the media afterwards! "I'm not a homosexual or nothing like that, but Kobe had no clothes on."
29.He didn't know Mike Woodson was the coach when he agreed to join the Knicks.
We all accidently skip over the details sometimes. Glossing over the little things is just a part of life. We may forget to DVR a show or ask the delivery place for extra napkins, Metta World Peace forgets to inquire about who his future head coach is going to be. Happens to the best of us.
30.He's the only person who thinks Knicks owner James Dolan would make a great coach.
Well, perhaps there are a few JD and The Straight Shot groupies out there who might agree, but they wouldn't want to see their legendary lead singer/kazoo master drop the mic to patrol the sidelines.
31.Sadly, he's a Jets fan.
Nobody's perfect.
32.World Peace switched to number 93 with the Kings because it looked like QB for Queensbridge.
We're just glad nobody told him that "93" totally doesn't look like "QB", because that is one of the greatest explanations for a jersey number this side of Michael Jackson's Thriller Billboard record.
33.He was 15 when his sister Quanisha died of SIDS. She's buried with one of his basketball trophies.
Quanisha was born right in his family's apartment in the Queensbridge Projects, and died only two months later. Ron apparently took the loss especially hard, tattooing his sister's name on his shoulder and vowing to never let anything like that happen to his family again.
34.He was a math major at St. John's.
What? Did you think Ron Artest was more of the Communications Major, type?
To this day he has a program at a Houston elementary school called "The Artest Math Masters", rewarding students who maintain high grades in mathematics.
35.He's not a great sexter.
This is the perfect example of "Do as I say not as I do." While Ron World Peace tells the children to stay away from "unknown females," to practice this in his own life has been more of a challenge. Deadspin featured a piece written by a woman on the other side of his sexts some years ago, and while we don't condone the behavior, it seems as though the incident has served as a learning experience. Extreme public embarrassment tends to help with the whole "learning experience" thing.