Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace recently made an appearance on MTV’s “Ridiculousness”, the comedy clip show hosted by Rob Dyrdek, Sterling “Steelo” Brim, and Chanel West Coast. As expected, World Peace was hilariously eccentric as Dyrdek discussed a variety of peculiar moments that have occurred during his career.
World Peace reminisced about working part-time at Circuit City during his rookie season with the Chicago Bulls, rationalizing that it was something to do and got him a 15 percent employee discount. He had to give up the job when a fan recognized him.
They also discussed when Metta played in China wearing shoes that featured a panda stuffed animal on them, and how his clothing brand/charity “The Panda’s Friend” operates.
However, the best exchange came when World Peace was commenting on a series of sports clips the show titled “Let Metta Help”, which featured kids struggling at sports. One featured a young child who stood in the middle of the basketball court with his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to do while the remaining nine players raced up and down the floor around him. Metta summed it all up nicely:
“It’s James Harden. James don’t got the ball he’s like I don’t know how to play”
As great as World Peace was, it does appear that his time with the Lakers may be over. He was brought in last season to act as a mentor to the team’s young players (on Ridiculousness they mentioned that MWP had gone from his role in the “Malice at the Palace” to winning the Walter J. Kennedy citizenship award), and he took forward Julius Randle under his wing.
While he was a positive influence, World Peace only appeared in 35 games for the Lakers last season, after which his contract expired. Now that Los Angeles is bringing in Chinese star Yi Jianlian they will be out of roster spots unless they waive Nick Young, as they are rumored to do. Even if they do free up a roster spot, the Lakers added veterans Timofey Mozgov, Luol Deng, and Jose Calderon this summer, which means that World Peace’s role as a mentor may not be needed.
Regardless of where he ends up, World Peace will always be fondly remembered by Lakers fans.