Looking at Ron Artest (Metta World Peace) in terms of his whole career, he certainly had a roller-coaster career. At his height he was one of the best two-way players in the game. At his height he was a top 10 player in the league. But that’s all overshadowed by the ‘Malice at the Palace‘. Which is a shame. Going to China and changing your name to Metta World Peace didn’t exactly help make your case to the average NBA fan. Winning a championship certainly did. MWP is back with the Lakers and looking back, he knows that he could’ve been a Hall Of Famer.
“I could’ve been in the Hall of Fame,” he said.
“If I would’ve been a more stable player …” he said.
“I had to play on other people’s teams so my average went down, my stats went down, less All-Stars, less All-Defensive teams,” he said.
“I was averaging 22 points against the Lakers. I can’t average 20 now? But now I’m on a team with Kobe. … That’s called sacrifice,” World Peace told ESPN. “After Houston, my individual career was pretty much done, because I’m with Kobe.”
It’s just one of those careers that had to take a back seat to help somebody else’s legacy. Sure he got a championship but he wanted to have more individually. It’s why he went to China, so he could ball out. I guess with him coming back that means that he’s fine with being a role player, or that he’s not as good as he used to be.
