Mudita World Peace

a reckoning with the basketball player born Ronald William Artest, also known as Ron Artest, also known as Metta World Peace, also known as The Panda’s Friend

For some time I continued to call him Ron Artest. I now see that this was unfair, or at least an impulse I should have taken less pride in. I recognize my willful and stubborn misnaming as a mistake, though not necessarily because he would have minded, and not because he ever could have known.

A new infographic has been making the rounds online that tells us that Metta World Peace (MWP) was the greatest nba player to ever wear four different numbers: 37, 51, 93, and 96. I personally can’t name any other players who have worn any of these, though my memory for facts like this is pocked and patchy, and the infographic confirms that for all but one of these idiosyncratic numbers, he wasn’t the first.¹

If you’re familiar with the name(s) Ron Artest, Metta World Peace, or The Panda’s Friend, it’s likely that you’re also familiar with an event known as The Malice at The Palace that took place at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004. If you’re not familiar with The Malice at The Palace, you can continue not knowing for another few minutes.

My first witnessing, in real time, on television, of a Metta World Peace outburst, an MWP act of violence, was when he elbowed then–Sixth Man of the Year, James Harden, in 2012. It was late in the regular season, and both teams—the Lakers and the Thunder—had mostly wrapped up their playoffs seeding. Harden was wearing soft blue, in which I found him eminently likable. He was in the habit of coming off the bench, knocking down some big threes, and sitting back down again. In this game he played thirteen minutes (was five of seven from the field, scoring fourteen points in all), sort of played defense, and came bobbing down the court to get on offense, his goofy beard bobbing along with him, after an emphatic MWP dunk at the other end. MWP’s elbow flew—was thrown, theoretically by accident, and theoretically in celebration, joy—into Harden’s head: roughly his temple.

This moment was jarring in real time, and continues to be so in replay, in that way that witnessing any other disproportionate show of emotion can be jarring, especially one that ends badly (e.g., in violence) or awkwardly (e.g., excitedly saying “you too” to the tsa agent who wishes you a good trip). There’s something Lenny-and-the-mouse about it all, right down to the illegibility of MWP’s face as his arms move into Harden’s head: is that an expression of rage? of ecstasy?

It’s also a senseless act of violence, and so it’s jarring in that way: there’s some real wind-up, and Harden goes down hard. MWP was ejected immediately (the foul was deemed a “flagrant 2”) and suspended seven games. Harden suffered a concussion and was out for the remainder of the regular season, just a few games at that point, before the playoffs began. MWP returned to join the Lakers for the second round of the playoffs, having at that point served his third nba career ban.

MWP currently goes by the name The Panda’s Friend, a name he chose “to honor China,” where he began playing after having his contract waived by the Knicks in 2014. In game situations, he often wears sneakers with white stuffed pandas affixed to the tongues. He plays now² for Pallacanestro Cantù in the northern Italian province of Como; the back of his jersey contains not merely “Friend” nor “Panda” but the full name: the panda’s friend.

MWP legally changed his name from Ron Artest in 2011. First name Metta, last name World Peace. Whereas his colleagues’ jerseys said things like fisher 2, bryant 24, barnes 9, morris 1, the player now formerly known as Ron Artest had a jersey that read world...