Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr.; November 13, 1979), known until 2011 as Ron Artest and as Metta World Peace from 2011 to 2020, is an American former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Sandiford-Artest played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1999 NBA draft, and would go on to play for five other teams in the NBA, gaining a reputation as one of the league's premier defenders. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004, when he was also named an NBA All-Star and earned All-NBA honors. He won an NBA championship in 2010 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Sandiford-Artest was a participant in several controversial on-court incidents, most notably the Malice at the Palace, and is known for his sometimes eccentric and outspoken behavior. During the 2017–18 season, Sandiford-Artest was a player development coach for the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. Early life Metta Sandiford-Artest was born Ronald William Artest Jr. on November 13, 1979, and raised in the Queensbridge projects in Long Island City, Queens, New York. He has two younger brothers, Isaiah and Daniel. He played high school basketball at La Salle Academy. He also teamed with future NBA players Elton Brand and Lamar Odom on the same Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team. Growing up, Artest witnessed the murder of a fellow player, 19-year-old Lloyd Newton, on a basketball court in Niagara Falls, New York, during an altercation at a 1991 YMCA-sanctioned basketball tournament. Artest recalled the incident during an interview in 2009: "I remember one time, one of my friends, he was playing basketball and they were winning the game. It was so competitive, they broke a leg from a table and they threw it and it went right through his heart and he died right on the court. So I'm accustomed playing basketball really rough." College career Artest played college basketball at St. John's University from 1997 to 1999. At St. John's, he majored in mathematics. In 1999, he led the Red Storm to a 14-4 record in the Big East Conference and 28-9 overall and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division I Tournament, losing to Ohio State. Artest gained fame playing around New York City in some of its