Image credit: MentalityMagazine.com

From the “Palace Brawl” to “Metta World Peace”

Earlier in his career, while playing for the Indiana Pacers as the visitor against the Detroit Pistons, then-Artest was the first of a group of players at the end of a game to physically challenge fans and go into the stands seeking them out. He threw heavy punches and connected as if he hadn’t forgotten his days growing up tough in New York City.

That episode has long passed and his role in the last Lakers’ championship is starting to fade too. He was an integral part in their ability to overcome the Boston Celtics in 2010 and reverse the previous year’s results.

Artest had taken the unusual steps of publicly seeking redemption in the years that followed the riotous behavior in Detroit. He went on sports talk-shows to offer his softer side. He would hip-hop rap and try to find the humor in things, too. He seemed uncomfortable in this couch role at first, but he kept at it and adapted to become very personable.

His basketball career continued successfully. He was a perennial defensive first-teamer and in the running for defensive player of the year, a-la Dennis Rodman. He had created a niche for himself in a game hard to find niches. His 6’7″ small forward buff-like frame would push others around on his way to the basket and create space for his 3-point shot.

Also, as the Dennis Rodman of his generation in the NBA, he impressed fans with wild haircuts and writing in his hair. He endeared himself by creating his own character.

He became more of an entertainer of sorts, trying stand-up comedy, stints on late-night shows instead of just sports shows, and an appearance as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars.

Through it all, he has created foundations to help the less fortunate and consistently given to charities, including giving his championship ring away to raise money. He has shown courage in announcing his donations to organizations focused on helping people with mental health, something he says he has struggled with.

His name change to Metta World Peace is all part of his evolution. He continues to try and find himself.

The dude who was once known as one of the Enforcers in the NBA, has now become a huggable teddy bear of a guy.

But, his latest move to Metta, might have played him out of the NBA.

Can “Metta World Peace” Still Enforce On the Court?

When you earned the money by becoming a defensive stopper and a hard-nosed gamer willing to take on the stiffest of challenges, and people have come to expect that of you, it’s hard to be anything else.

Metta means loving and kindness. World Peace means exactly that, world peace.

His shiny career is coming to an end.

With his name Metta World Peace, he may have found more of who he is, but he has lost his desire for what made him so great at roundball.

Like Rodman before him, Artest will be remembered for being different and coming to the realization that being different and searching for the meaning in life are okay things to do for pro athletes, who are constantly in the limelight and expected to know exactly who they are and what they want.

They were able to give more perspective on how to be yourself when everyone is telling you that you have to be one way.

Artest, the basketball player, has become Metta World Peace, the fledgling entertainer humanitarian.

He may have made a career path for himself after basketball. He won’t make the Hall of Fame, but he won’t be forgotten too quickly by the public, either.

Howard Alperin is Managing Editor of www.AmericanizeSoccer.com

“It’s over. It’s over…it wasn’t pretty, but it’s over”

Words said by the great Phil Jackson himself, and yes, it is now officially over my friends.

The 2009-10 NBA season, playoffs, and Finals are now all over; but now, we know who is officially on top:

The Los Angeles Lakers

Photo credit: Christen Peterson/Y! Sports

It was a long grueling season.

Many believed that the Lakers could threated the 72-win season, Chicago Bulls. That sure as hell did not happen, but what did happen is the same result; the Lakers are now champions, and this one should definitely taste that much sweeter, as the Celtics were the foe, and this one, without a doubt, has to be one of the toughest for these Lakers, ever!

Might I add, though, as this was one of the ugliest games I’ve ever seen in my entire life. The tempo was slower than a turtle in peanut butter, the FG% were disgustingly low, and the offense simply wasn’t there. But do you think that LA cares? Nope, because right now, Kobe, and the rest of the gang, are enjoying their Kool-Aid!

Missed the game? Enjoy the highlights:

Without a doubt, the end of this game was filled with nerves. I can only imagine how the Celtics and Lakers fans were feeling throughout this game, but when it was all done, every NBA fan in the world took a big deep breathe, sighed and said, “Yeah, the best team in the NBA won.”

And that’s the way it should be, because the Lakers were the cut above, best team in the NBA.

When you have the best coach in the league, arguably the best player in the world, and the best supporting player in Pau Gasol, you better win the damn championship!

So congrats to the Los Angeles Lakers, because in my mind, no team deserved it more than them!

Photo credit: Christen Peterson/Y! Sports

So how does winning this championship make Kobe Bryant look?

Amazing!

In my opinion, this has to be the most important ring in Kobe’s stash.

One, you’re getting revenge from ’08, when the Celtics straight up embarrassed you, claiming that you’re soft, weak, play no defense, yada yada yada.

Second, it was against the Celtics, I mean, age-old rivalry my friends, that has to make the cake taste better for the yellow and purple.

And third, because this puts Kobe at the top of Laker’s lore.

So, basically I’m saying that this is making Kobe the greatest Laker of all-time. Heck, even Magic said it last night. He even said Kobe and Kareem deserve their own statue outside the Staples Center. But, Kareem is a whole other topic, we are on Kobe.

The Kobe.

How can you not put this guy at the top? All-time Lakers scorer, which in itself, makes you drool. 5-time NBA champion, 2-time Finals MVP, and 1 league MVP.

Not a bad resume, eh? Never mind all of the other accolades. But for Kobe to win 5 championships, with two completely different eras, is one of the most amazing things in basketball. Not only was he part of one dynasty, but he is beginning to be part of a second in this era’s Lakers. And the crazy thing about it is, he’s been the ring leader both times.

So, what else can I say? I’ll eventually be writing an article on Phil Jackson’s possible return, and an article on Fisher’s “clutch-ness”, an article on how Kobe is the greatest Laker of all-time, and an article on Pau Gasol being the best European player in the NBA.

But I’m done talking about all this for now. I just want to put the lens on the 2010 NBA Champion Lakers. Let them drink the champagne, let Phil enjoy his 11th, let Kobe go to Disney with his beautiful family, and let the whole Lakers fan base enjoy this one, because it is surely deserved. So once again…

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers,

the 2010 NBA Champions!

]]> http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2010/06/la-lakers-the-sweet-repeat/feed/ 5 http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/11/what-happened-zeke/ http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2008/11/what-happened-zeke/#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:32:25 +0000 Nicholas Gerlach http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/?p=826 I recently blogged on the topic of Pistons GM Joe Dumars, a former guard for Detroit, and the perception that he is a genius. This got me to thinking about his partner in the backcourt for those Pistons championship teams of the late eighties….the great Isiah Thomas.

As you know, in October of this year Isiah Thomas was taken to a New York hospital after being founded unconcious in his home. The incident was ruled as a “accidental overdose of a prescription sleeping pill”. This was just another scar on the post NBA career for Thomas. The real surprise in this particular incident is that he insinuated that his 17 year old daughter was actually the patient. Why he would try to throw his 17 year old daughter under the bus when it could easily be proven otherwise? Furthermore…what the hell happened to Isiah Thomas?

Isiah Thomas has some staggering statistics as a player. He attended Indiana University for two years under Bob Knight. He was on the 1981 National Championship team and was named the Most Outstanding Player for the NCAA tournament that year. He then left and was drafted with second pick of the 1981 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He was a force right away as he made the NBA all rookie team. He continued to dominate at the point throughout his career and even lead the Bash Brothers teams to two championships in the 1988-’89 and 1989-’90 seasons. Here is a rundown of some of his statistics from Basketball-Reference.com:

- NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (1981)
- NBA All Rookie Team (1982)

- 12x NBA All Star (every year from 1982-1993)
- 3x All-NBA First Team (1984-1986)
- 2x NBA SEcond Team (1983,1987)
- 2x NBA Champion (1989,1990)
- NBA Finals MVP (1990)
- U.S. Olympian (1980…never played because of the boycoot, but, was named to the team)
- J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1987)

He also scored 18,822 points had 9,061 (9.3 pg) Assists and 1,861 Steals in his career. He is the Pistons career leader in the following categories: games played, points, steals and assists. He is fourth all-time NBA in assists.

These are staggering statistics that led to him being chosen as one of the top 50 players of all time for the 50th anniversary team. He was also named to the Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

He retired as a player in 1994. This was when his career did a 180 and took a turn for the worse.

First, he bought in to the expansion Toronto Raptors franchise becoming a part owner and VP. He was run out of town over disagreements with management. He then tried a forray into broadcasting.

The real trouble started when he bought the CBA in 1998. The league later went into bankruptcy and no longer exists. Isiah Thomas has been given a lot of the blame for the leagues demise. The big reason for this is that he turned down a profitable offer from the NBA to turn the CBA into a development league for the NBA. Thomas declined. The NBA later created the NBDL as a farm system for the NBA which basically made the CBA obsolete.

Thomas was then hired on to replace Larry Bird as the head coach for the the Indiana Pacers. This was Isiah’s first try at head coaching and he was given a stacked team. The Pacers had just won the Eastern Conference title and were poised for more success. But, Isiah never got them out of the first round of the playoffs. They had the talent, but Isiah just wasn’t experienced enough for head coaching. It’s hard to believe that he couldn’t get a team with young talent in Ron Artest and Brad Miller and a veteran leader in sharp shooter Reggie Miller out of the first round of the playoffs. This led to him being replaced in Indiana as head coach.

In 2003, he moved on to destroy the New York Knicks franchise, where he was named President of Basketball operations. He also became head coach in 2006. By the time he became head coach in New York he had helped them amass the highest payroll in the entire NBA…..and the 2nd worse record. On top of that, there were allegations of sexual harrasment and racism by a Madison Square Garden employee.

To me, not many have fallen harder than Isiah Thomas after his career as a player ended. I think bad decision after bad decision may have finally taken its toll. He has won chamionships as a player, dazzled fans with his insane ball-handling abilities and could get to the hoop like no other point guard of his time. But, he fell from an NBA All Star (and personally one of my favorite players) to the the brink of death.

He ripped apart franchises and even destroyed an entire league. All of this finally culminated this Fall with him throwing his 17 year old daughter under the bus for his “accidental overdose”. This is a tragic epilogue to an exciting and dominating NBA career, and it should be a warning sign to current NBA players to not bite off more than you can chew when your playing career is over.

[tags]isiah thomas, nba[/tags]