“GET OFF ME” Metta World Peace gave MVP James Harden the trashing of lifetime recreating Malice at the Palace
Metta World Peace or formerly known as Ron Artest was of the most controversial stars in the league during his time. He is now widely remembered as the man who several names but none would even match the actual reason to his fame. He was a very crucial player on many teams that he played for most notably the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Peace was a major hot head during his time in the league. The player holds the record for the longest suspension in the history of the league with 86 games. This ban came after what we now consider as the most infamous brawl in NBA history. Yes, the malice at the palace, in 2004 during a Pacers vs Pistons game when Ron got heavily involved with Ben Wallace and then later started brawling with an unruly fan.
Metta World Peace almost recreates the Palace brawl
Following the incident, Metta World Peace was stripped an entire seasons worth of play. A season that he could further dominated the league with the Pacers as he did while averaging 24.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assist per game before being suspended. The same would happen close to eight years later, although the repercussions were not at severe.
During the 2012 playoffs as the Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles Lakers played against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Artest once again found himself in deep trouble. As he dunked the ball in a drive to the basketball, he was fully hyped up when James Harden accidently bumped into him. Artest would elbow for yet to be named MVP at the back of his head which resulted in a seven game suspension.
Metta World Peace opens up about the 2012 elbow shot to James Harden
Shortly after the incident is when then “Ron Artest” would legally change his name to “Metta World Peace.” He spoke about the incident on the All The Smoke podcast saying, “This is what really happened. Mike Brown came to me and said, ‘Yo, I need more energy.’ So, I got a dunk and (screamed) ARGH! I was hyped. Too hyped.”
“And at this moment, James nudged me. It wasn’t that big, it was the same thing I did with Ben Wallace. I was like, ’Get off me.’ I thought it would’ve been on the shoulder like just rubbed ‘get off!’. Not an elbow. I didn’t really hit Harden. He would’ve had a knot. That kind of hurt me a lot. I hate that image, it’s one of my worst.”
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