PERSONALBorn Ronald William Artest Jr. on Nov. 13, 1979, in Queensbridge, NY ... Legally changed name to Metta World Peace on Sept. 16, 2011 ... Cast member for Season 13 of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” (2011) ... Has a record label called "TruWarier" ... Released debut album on Halloween, 2006, titled "My World" ... Mathematics major at St. John's ... Named a McDonald's All-American, as well as the Co-Player of the Year in New York City and the State of New York as a senior at La Salle Academy ... Teamed with Elton Brand and Lamar Odom on the same AAU team as a teenager ... Launched his A.R.T.E.S.T. (Arithmetic Reaches Tomorrow's Exemplary Students Today) Math Masters Program at Felix Cook Jr. Elementary School in Oct. 2008 targeting students in 3rd-5th grades; participants in the program utilized his game statistics to help master math fundamentals in preparation for the TAKS test ... Hosted the "First Annual BBQ Ball" for the residents of Queensbridge in Aug. 2008, which included a BBQ, basketball and baseball games ... Brought a group of 18 kids from Queensbridge to Disney World (Orlando, FL) in Aug. 2008 ... Joined a contingent of representatives from the NBA Players Association and the Feed the Children program on a goodwill mission to Africa in July 2007, distributing more than one million meals to impoverished areas in Nairobi as part of the NBPA's "Feeding One Million" campaign ... Reunited with the Feed the Children program for a mission to Central America in Aug. 2007, delivering rations and supplies to deprived areas throughout Honduras ... Participated in the Roosevelt Family Empowerment Weekend held in New York City in Aug. 2007, teaching a youth basketball clinic and speaking to kids about the virtues of hard work and community involvement ... Launched a new welfare program in Sept. 2007 titled "Xcel University," which was established with the goal of identifying issues facing high-risk students while collaborating with schools and community centers to encourage and reward students who are leading productive lives ... Has become a spokesman in the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) advertising campaign ... Has visited "A Place Called Home," a non-profit organization for homeless families in South Central Los Angeles, speaking to kids about the virtues of education and a life void of violence and drugs ... Attended the 2007 Wheelchair Charities, Inc. Basketball Classic in New York City, which raises funding to assist paraplegic, quadriplegic and amputee patients ... Co-hosted the 2006 Wheelchair Charities, Inc. game at Madison Square Garden ... Sponsors basketball tournaments four times a year held at Queensbridge Projects in New York City, which is an outdoor court in his hometown ... Actively involved in mental health awareness initiatives, auctioning off his 2010 NBA Championship ring to raise money for mental health programs and speaking before members of Congress in Washington as an advocate of mental health.CAREER Selected by Chicago in the first round (16th overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft after his sophomore season at St. John’s ... Acquired by the Indiana Pacers along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller and Kevin Ollie from the Bulls in exchange for Travis Best, Norman Richardson, Jalen Rose and a conditional second round pick 2/19/02 ... Acquired by Sacramento from the Pacers for Peja Stojakovic 1/25/06 ... Acquired by Houston along with Patrick Ewing Jr. and Sean Singletary from the Kings in exchange for Bobby Jackson, Donte Greene, the Rockets 2009 first-round draft pick and other considerations ... Has averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.98 steals in 681 games (639 starts) with Chicago, Indiana, Sacramento, Houston and L.A. Lakers ... Broke Michael Jordan’s record for most steals by a player in their first two NBA seasons (271) ... Has finished among the top-five in the NBA in steals per game five times in his career (2nd in 2001-02, 2nd in 2002-03, 3rd in 2003-04, T-2nd in 2006-07 and T-2nd in 2007-08) ... Has led his team in steals in 10 of his 12 NBA seasons, recording at least 100 thefts in all but one campaign (2004-05) ... Scored 20-plus points in 204 career games and tallied 30 or more points 22 times ... Has posted 34 career double-doubles ... 2010 NBA Champion ... Voted the 2004 NBA Defensive Player of the Year ... Chosen All-NBA Third Team once (2004) ... Named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice (2004, 2006) and Second Team twice (2003, 2009) ... Appeared in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles (2/15/04) as a member of the Pacers, posting seven points (3-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 1-2 FT), three rebounds, three assists and a steal in 17 minutes ... Named to the 1999-2000 Schick All-Rookie Second Team ... Earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors on three occasions with the Pacers (Nov. 11-17, 2002; Nov. 3-9, 2003; Mar. 22-28, 2004) ... Recipient of the 2011 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.HOW ACQUIREDSigned by the Lakers as a free agent July 7, 2009. | ADDITIONAL LINKS: |