During the scuffle, Artest hacked Wallace on a drive, prompting Wallace to push him and a fan to lob a Diet Coke soda at him. The wild skirmish among players and fans - which occurred at the end of the match between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons - was a seminal moment for the NBA. Artest had committed a hard foul on Wallace during the final moments of the game, thereby initiating the fracas. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Īrtest, albeit one of the greatest small forwards of all time, was best known for brawling with fans in Detroit back in 2004 in an event notoriously known as “Malice at the Palace.” Artest was a raw athlete through and through, often bringing playground grudges from the projects at Queensbridge onto the court and, in turn, harming the prospects of his own career.Įver since the debacle, World Peace has not spoken to Pistons center Ben Wallace despite being friendly with one of the key instigators of the fight. I don’t think the old Ron Artest would have been ready for that final.” Kobe Bryant #24 (L) and Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers pressure Joe Johnson #2 of the Atlanta Hawks during the NBA basketball game at Staples Center on November 1, 2009, in Los Angeles, California. “I would have probably gotten into a fight or done something stupid. I would have been ejected,” he told the Associated Press (AP) after getting into therapy. “I would not have been able to deal with the adversity. When he was 13, his parents divorced and the family apartment was destroyed in a fire.
" Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story" premieres Friday May 31 at 10pm EST/PST on Showtime.Metta World Peace, previously known as Ron Artest, had to win a championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in order to cleanse his tarnished career of an angry episode he once had in Detroit.īut before he could do that, the legendary defensive specialist had to heal his volatile mind. Artest grew up in a broken home at the Queensbridge housing project - a neighborhood plagued by drug dealing at the nadir of the crack era. Kobe plays like Michael Jordan, we were running the triangle and this was an absolute dream." Phil Jackson was my favorite coach because he was on the Bulls. Kobe's dad and my dad went to the same high school. To get a title with Lamar, that was amazing. Me, Lamar, and Elton Brand we all shared MVPs in tournaments. "We got championships together, we shared MVPs. One of the highlights of World Peace's career was winning an NBA championship on the Lakers with Kobe Bryant and his longtime friend Lamar Odom. I led the league in techs and flagrants my whole career." You can justify because I was getting in trouble already. I don't know what's happening at the front office behind closed doors.
There were things that happened that could've been different. I'm really fine with taking the bulk of the blame, I've been doing that all my life. what happened to the whistle, tech, and hand point to the locker room? There were a lot of frustrating moments at that time where I felt I took the bulk of it and I'm fine with that. When I look back at it, I do blame some people for that event," said World Peace.