Lakers Report Cards: Metta World Peace

Ron Artest . . . dammit . . . Metta World Peace . . . You know what, before I go any further, let’s acknowledge that there’s an entire generation of children who know Ron Artest as a peaceful champion of mental health.

Anyway, back to the report card.

What embodies the spirit of the phrase, “love is blind,” more than Lakers fans’ passionate support of World Peace? Hell, it’s possible that the fat cat courtside seat dwellers at Staples Center pray more for a three-point swish by World Peace than actual world peace.

Thanks to 20 points in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, which included a late three-pointer that helped seal the victory over the hated Celtics for the championship, World Peace earned a special place in Lakers fans’ hearts, somewhere between the Robert Horry right atria, and the Derek Fisher 0.4 second septum. That one game meant so much to Lakers fans that they cheer wildly for him each time he enters a game, despite the fact that his entry has led to a FG percentage short of the 40-mark in five seasons as a Laker.

Like World Peace, the Lakers signing of him before the 2015-2016 season was a tough nut to crack given that he was not even in the Association the previous year, and averaged an awful 4.8 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.8 steals per game for the Knicks in 2013-2014. Somehow, however, World Peace was one of the most obvious impactful contributors to the Lakers pathetic season.

Don’t let the career-worst stats fool you. No player on the team was more professional, energetic, and disciplined than World Peace. Although he never knew when and if Byron Scott would call his number off the bench, World Peace did not hang his head or act like a primadonna Scottie Pippen-type, who demanded he be played based on his resume rather than what was best for the team in the moment.

Incidentally, when I was a child, I thought the word was pre-Madonna and that the term referred to someone really vain who came before Madonna. And by “when I was a child,” I mean I just googled the term. But I digress.

Each time Scott inserted World Peace into the lineup, he brought a defensive intensity and vigor that one would only expect to see during the Playoffs. He bodied up his man, chased down loose balls with reckless disregard for his health, and utilized his left Kawhi-claw to antagonize dribblers who had beat him with a crossover but foolishly forgot to shorten their dribble afterwards.

If his performance didn’t inspire the Lakers youth to stay focused and be grateful for every opportunity they had on the hardwood, then nothing could. They only made one World Peace . . . his lawyer checked the records before completing the name-change papers.

Areas of Improvement: Accepting that his NBA playing days are over.

Future with the Lakers: Hopefully, World Peace and the Lakers' front office both realize that the best place for him is with Luke Walton as an assistant coach. If he still wants to play though, World Peace better take a Mandarin & Cantonese refresher course, because it won't be with the Lakers.

Overall Grade: A for effort.