Metta Sandiford-Artest takes in a Wolves-Kings game at Golden 1 Center in October of 2024.
During his 17-year NBA playing career, Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly Ron Artest and Metta World Peace) carved out a reputation as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense player.
He was also one of the smartest defensive players on the court, using his extensive basketball knowledge to slow down some of the best offensive players in NBA history.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that since hanging up his sneakers for good in 2017, the 2004 Kia Defensive Player of the Year is sharing his basketball smarts with others as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Cal State Los Angeles.
And yes, he has a wealth of wisdom to pass along on the offensive side of the ball, too.
Editor’s Note: The following conversation has been condensed and edited.
NBA.com: Did you finish all your holiday shopping?
Sandiford-Artest: I try to show my kids something different, because we did too much shopping in my career. We actually recycle Christmas presents, like take something from last year, and just wrap it up. And we do that a lot because they need to be humble. And I got so many grandchildren, and I don’t want them to think they’re going to be spoiled.
What do you have on your personal wish list?
Just for people to be happy. Honestly, that’s what I want, happiness. I’m on a different journey these days. I’m happy. I’m so content and so happy, so I try to pass it down. I like seeing people happy.
How closely do you still follow the NBA?
You know, I follow it from a different angle. Definitely, during the playoffs. I coach Division II basketball … I’ve been there for seven years. We actually played today. And so I’m mostly consumed with Division II women’s basketball. I know the NBA, but it just takes me a while to get fully caught up.
As good as the regular season is, you don’t lock in until the playoffs, huh?
I love to go to the games, I’m actually more of a fan right now. It took me years to become a fan. When I first retired, I still wanted to play. I couldn’t even go to a game that first year of retirement. I’d see a player and I’d just want to bite down.
In Game 7 of the 2010 Finals, Kobe Bryant passed the ball to Metta Sandifor-Artest (then known as Ron Artest), who hit a clutch 3-pointer to seal the Lakers' title.
Oh wow, what about now?
It took me like eight years, or maybe six years, to really, like, be able to go to a game. Like, I would go to a game and be very uncomfortable in the arena setting.
That’s hilarious. You were probably sitting there saying to yourself, ‘I know I can shut him down.’
Actually, I knew I couldn’t shut him down, but I wanted to just compete. I’m smart enough to know, like my body wasn’t, you know, I haven’t been working out. You still salivate.
Before we finish talking about the NBA, I want to go back to Coach Metta and how did you get involved with women’s college basketball?
Towards the end of my career with the Lakers, when I would leave my practices … actually, this one gentleman hit me up on Twitter and said, “Hey, would you want to come to a girls’ practice in the Palisades?” I was like, ‘Well, I want to get into coaching,’ so I said, ‘You know what, I’ll come by.’
I went and he said, ‘Hey, you want to coach?’ I hadn’t coached before, but that led me to coaching at Palisades Charter High School with Torino Johnson. I did that for a couple of years, and we got two championships. Then he got the job under Cheryl Miller at Cal State LA. Eventually, he got the head coaching job, and he called m,e and this is now year seven.
We’ve turned the whole program around.
What’s the biggest difference between the men’s and women’s game?
Guys are jumping over the rim, you know? A man’s body composition is way different than a woman’s body composition, and vice versa. It’s not the same game. It’s different. And I like coaching the women’s game. I never knew I would enjoy this so much. It’s definitely action-packed. It’s to the point where I would turn down deals to get to a game. I left a trip in Saudi Arabia early to get to my game.
What is your role as a coach and what do you focus on?
I do a little bit of everything. I played point guard in the NBA. Sometimes I would post up. I guarded bigs. I guarded smalls. The misconception and narrative is, ‘Hey you’d be a great defensive coach.’ I’m like, ‘Hold up, don’t act like I didn’t get buckets and play offense, too.’ I say first of all, you’ve never been in the NBA, and if you were in the NBA, I would have given you 30 and locked you up.
Coaching college athletes is challenging. They are still trying to figure out life while going to classes, etc.
What I really love is the improvement from year to year. You have to make sure the seniors are happy and help them as they go into their internships. You have to make sure the underclassmen’s grades are good. You have to make sure the freshmen are training every day, learning everything. This is why I’ve been here for seven years. You become so invested in your players and watching them develop, and you end up staying another four years. The first six years, I did it for free. I was a volunteer coach.
Who do you think is the best team in the NBA?
It’s the Thunder. We all know what SGA [Shai Gilgeous-Alexander] is doing, but what makes them so special is that they can beat you in a lot of different ways. They can all ball, and they all play defense. SGA is like Michael Jordan at times. And when I tweeted that last year, you know, I got the comments, of course. This is before the MVP. They did get on me, but look what happened. Scoring title, MVP Finals, MVP in the league, and look what’s happening this year. Last year, I said at times he’s like Michael Jordan, and now I’m saying he’s like Michael Jordan.
SGA or Joker?
SGA is No. 1, not because he is better than Joker [Nikola Jokić], but when you got that much of a disparity and margin between records, you know? It’s like when we were the best team in the league, we had 61 wins. The Wolves had 55 wins, and Jermaine O’Neill should have got MVP, but it wasn’t enough to edge out Kevin Garnett, right? If it was a little closer, Joker, not by a landslide, but Joker, yes. But since that record is like that, I’ve got to give SGA credit.
Which current NBA player would you love to play with?
Tyrese Maxey. I love how fast, energetic, and hard he plays. He has a big motor and I could compliment that. I love effort players. I could put up points, but I’d much rather play defense. So with Maxey, I can lock somebody up and score and he would be out there doing the same.
Who was the toughest player you had to cover?
Obviously, Kobe[Bryant] and LeBron [James]. Richard Hamilton was another one. He was tough because he ran so much. Actually, he was the toughest guy. He had the pull-up, midrange game and he was running the entire time. I was heavier than him so the weight distribution was different. He would get you running one way, then change direction. He was just extremely hard to guard.
