Metta World Peace Goes by a New Name Now
In addition to his former status as one of the top defenders in the NBA and his infamous cases of disciplinary issues, one of the many things fans know Ron Artest for was his name-change to Metta World Peace in the 2011 off-season, back when he still played for the Lakers. Although he was not the first NBA player to change his name, it was still an unusual occurrence, and made headlines nonetheless. Now, nearly nine years later, Metta has changed his name once again, marking the second time he has made this decision. According to sources, his name is now Metta Ford-Artest; he stated that he combined his surname with that of his wife's, whose name is Maya Ford.
This is not the first instance where Metta's name surfaced regarding a name-change in the past few years. In 2014, during his year-long stint overseas, rumors emerged that he had changed his name to “Panda Friend”. Obviously, these rumors were not true – this is his first official name change since 2011.
Metta's playing career ended after the 2016-17 season, when he had made a brief return to Los Angeles. He is currently the player development coach for the South Bay Lakers, the LA Lakers' G-League affiliate.
