Metta World Peace says he changed his name again to Metta Sandiford-Artest
The man once known as Ron Artest has a new name.
Former NBA All-Star Metta World Peace revealed in a Monday episode of “Inside the Green Room with Danny Green” that he had changed his name to Metta Sandiford-Artest.
The new part of his name comes from his wife, Maya Sandiford.
The name change came up as the former player discussed his feelings about his first name change:
The first game that I had with World Peace, I was like, “This is the dumbest thing ever.” I was coming off of the bench at that time, in 2011, and they say, “Metta World Peace!” And I remember not wanting to take off my warm up. It was embarrassing. So I did think about changing my name back, but then I got used, people got used it.
But right now, it’s funny because I got married, and my name now is Metta Sandiford-Artest. I actually took my wife’s last.
The 40-year-old also mentioned that he considered changing his name to “Queensbridge” — after the New York City projects he grew up in — or “So Hood.” An interest in Buddhism landed him on Metta World Peace, with the first name being a popular Indian name.
He also denied ever actually changing his name to “Panda Friend” when joining the Chinese Basketball Association.
“People said, 'Metta's changing his name to ‘Panda Friend!’“ he said. “So I just rode with it!”
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