The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Postgame Show: Metta Sandiford-Artest

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

Metta Sandiford-Artest joins Dan and the crew to share stories of youth, growth, and NBA legends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Giraffe King's Network. a TFSA stands for Total Fund Savings Adventure, maybe reach out to TD Direct Investing. I think I could say this without reservation or dilution. I mean, this is one of the toughest players in the history of the NBA, someone who nobody wanted to trifle with and not just a champion, but one of the best defenders in nba history we've talked to a number of times over the years and just wasn't afraid to fight on the court coming from where he came from uh... before professional basketball was just an uncommonly tough human being he now goes

by meta sandiford artist okay so it's not runner test is not met a world peace it's not the pandas friend it is met a sandiford, our test. Okay, so it's not Ron or test. It's not Metta world peace. It's not the pandas friend. It is Metta Sandiford, our test. Welcome, Ron, Metta, excuse me. It's nice. It's nice to see you again. Can you tell us what it what what precipitated the name change? Well, I still go by metal world peace. But when I got married, in my second marriage, I took my wife's last name. So that's where Sander Fort came from. And she really loved Artest. As you can see, Artest Foundation, my dad's foundation, I have Artest management group. So I mean, we still really love the Artest name. And then, but like I said, if it wasn't for changing to my wife's

last name, which I thought was really cool, I would have still been world peace, but I just still go by world peace as much as I can. Can you tell us here, what has you excited? I've been fascinated to watch your growth over the years and late when you became a champion you were very comfortable on the court saying thank you to my therapist because you were tackling mental health stuff before it was popular. You were doing vulnerability publicly before it was popular. So what has you excited these days as you've blossomed here in adulthood post-retirement? Man, thanks a lot for recognizing that.

All sports teams have a lot of sports team have therapists now. That started from 2010 when I think my psychologist on natural television. I'm currently on the board at UCLA Psychiatric Ward and I'm also serving on the board of a couple other institutions. So I'm really excited about that. I'm also about to launch a mental health curriculum with my health care company that I have. It's called EasyCareLink.com. It's a nursing company and I'm the chair of the board. And we're also, we have a telehealth mental health app that we're launching and we're going to have curriculum attached to that with architecture university,

my foundation. So I'm super excited. The growth that I had since I retired. The first day I retired, it was tough. Honestly, I was stressed. I didn't, I didn't think I had any skills and I was insecure, but I quickly realized that I was an architect major and if I could apply architecture to build in a business that I think things will be okay. And I figured that it took me 11 years to make it to the MBA from the age of eight to the age of 19. So I said, you know what, I'll just put in another 11 years of work. And at some point I'll be able to operate and administrate, you know, a firm in which I'm doing now. And we're here, we're nine years in roughly. So I'm doing now and we're here. We're not we're nine years in roughly. So we got 40 companies in the portfolio, 12 we control.

And it wasn't rough the first couple of years. It was, it was a lot of stress as a retired athlete. Well, we can talk about that in a second, but I'm curious where the lights went off for you in terms of introspection, right? Cause nobody's ready to get to the league. Nobody is ready at a young age to get to the league. But when did lights start going off for you on, no, I kind of need to explore some things here in my patterns and my upbringings and the way that I, uh,

you know, handle issues. Uh, where did lights come on for you? Uh, I would say when I, when I, when I was missing out on awards, because you got to think about it, I was the youngest defensive player of the year, right? As a guard, right? And when you think about how people were talking about me being on the cover with Larry Bird,

shout out to Larry Bird, great guy. You know, when you think about what I was doing at 23 years old, you know, you were talking about Jersey retirement at Indiana. It was only one direction to go. But when you miss out on an all-star game because you're suspended, then miss out on another all-star game because you're suspended, then you miss out on more all-team NBA, all-team MBAs, and you miss out on even having an opportunity

to get another defensive player of the year. Arguably, I love Ben Wallace. This is not anything I've been Wallace, but you can make an argument that if I was there in 2005 before I got suspended and if I didn't request the trade the next year, you can argue that I would have been in the running for defensive player of the year. Even when I got to Sacramento in a half a season, I made first team all defense. So, from that perspective, just not taking advantage of the opportunity and taking things for granted.

And that takes time to, cause you can soak in it, but I said, you know what, I'll just like embrace it. I'll take it, hold myself accountable for it, my actions and just go forward. So I think 2007 through 2009, I started to try my best to make, turn a corner. We have talked to you about some of this stuff, right?

Some of the famous stories where applied for work at Circuit City, I think it was. You've told us the story, I think, of running out at halftime of a Bulls game to go get liquor, right? Do I have that right? Or am I remembering some details wrong about having to go out at halftime? a Bulls game to go get liquor, right? Do I have that right? Or am I remembering some details wrong about having to go out at halftime?

You were so young. You left the building? Do I have this wrong? I don't wanna get it wrong. I actually appreciate you asking me if you have it wrong. I think like the halftime, no, but I was indulging quite often in alcohol. I'm not gonna brand the company I was indulging quite often in alcohol. I'm not going to brand the company I was drinking, but I was indulging a lot.

I did have a moment. I did have a really destructive and detrimental moment. I was young, but I even had young guys like Jamar Crawford on my team. So I wasn't I wasn't the role model quite then. But yeah, I had some moments where I was taking my emotions out and sabotaging my own career. I'm curious because the stories that Dan brought up, and obviously it was a different time in NBA history,

but at that time, the thing I kept thinking of was, who's around you, like as far as not people working for the team, but who was around you that was supposed to be looking out for you? Because the Circuit City thing is a great example, and correct me if I'm wrong, you did it because you wanted the employee discount to buy CDs, but if you had someone around you who should have been like, no man, just do like a signing and they would have given you all the CDs for free.

You wouldn't even have to work more than an hour or so, or you probably could even got paid on that. So I always think about what man was he by himself? Did you have people around you? So like right before I was going to college, my brother went to jail for 10 years for drug trafficking, right? So drugs in the Greyhound bus. So they gave him 10 years flat. So when he went away at 17 years old, you know, that was going to be my guy who I go into college and go into the NBA with. He's all he got is a justice company and he's really smart. He did 10 years and that was years, 18 years ago he got out of prison. But so, you know, at that point in time, you know, I just, I only trust people I know. So, you know So I started to just be around different people that I know, because you also navigate the

street life. You also got to navigate who you're around. So for me, the Circus City situation was I just needed, because time can get you in a lot of trouble when you have time. So I also just needed to spend my time doing something positive because once I got to Chicago, I was, I went straight to the hoods, you know, I would leave practice and go straight to a Robert Taylor, okay, Brady green or 70 nights in the house to do something like that,

because I always needed to be around the streets because where I'm from, I only felt comfortable in the street. So it took me quite some time to understand that. But I also realized that I was, I wanted to be around the streets. So it took me quite some time to understand that. But I also realized that I wanted to be around the streets because I also enjoy giving back. I was never the type of guy to stunt in the streets, like wear jewelry or do things like that. So I was always kind of well respected in the streets.

But from that perspective, I didn't want to be around anybody. I didn't want to be around, so I only wanted to be around people that didn't understand this new lifestyle. So it was a conflict. Not really a conflict of interest. It was really a conflict in like what I'm dreaming for. You know, I wasn't on the same page with myself. Well, explain that part to us though, because that's an interesting kind of loneliness. You arrive at all of your dreams, ostensibly, but those people don't necessarily understand you.

The business of it is foreign, and you feel lonely enough that you want to go back to something that feels like your neighborhood. 100%. Like, even after practicing in Chicago on a Friday, I would drive to New York just to touch 12th Street, Mobb Deep Block, where I was raised, just to touch it and drive back 36 hours later. Sometimes drive back 18 hours later. And it's just the way you feel,

haven't got that famous bar, no matter how much loot I get, I'm staying in the projects. That was really me. You know what I'm saying? But now I've got a different perspective because I can communicate. I no longer have to use only my emotions to communicate. I can use my words.

So now that I can do that, I can still be inspirational and I can do things. I can still have that type of, those characteristics, but I can be more inspiring and build stuff I'm where I couldn't communicate that at 18 years old. I will leave this alone after this because I do want to accent this man has been excellent for a long time, tough for a long time and has had a career that has a lot of difficult things accomplished in it.

But the story that we've talked around sometimes, but I don't think we've actually gotten to the bottom of, that I don't know if it, what part of it is true either, is how it is you ended up before a game seven on a corporate bus with salespeople. And you're- I'm really happy about you telling that story actually. I never said, you said it, I never brought it up, and I don't like to tell things.

Okay, and if I've got it wrong, forgive me, and I must say on the front end of this, I really admire this man's career and his growth. So I'm not just rummaging around in the salacious stories. It's good. I'm glad you brought that up because I can't believe that's even brought up. I never said it and it really is not even,

you should not even know that. So I don't like to talk about things for clicks, but I'm really happy you mentioned that because you should not even have known that. And I'll just tell you the story. I was getting a haircut, but I had a great haircut game seven. I came down to get on the bus that typically nobody would be on. I didn't really see anybody on these buses with the exception of the team. anybody on these buses, with the exception of the team. So when I came down with my suit in hand and some really thin shorts,

really thin shorts with pockets, I wore them on Jimmy Kimmel, just to show that they were shorts. The story said I came out in my underwears. Like, why would that, why is that? And I had no shirt on, who cares? I'm getting dressed on the bus. I got off the bus in a suit or an

outfit. I don't know what I had on. I had like a something, it might've been like a college shirt or something, you know, because I didn't want to be late for the bus, you know? And I'm going to a game and I was getting a haircut. My haircut was really nice for game seven, you know? And I played very well, you know? And, you know, and, and, and so that story for, for somebody to, to use that. And I don't even want to get into it. Cause now I know why that story was put out there. Now it should, you should not have known this story. Now I got to talk about something that I'm not happy about, which I still didn't

say, I just like to leave things alone. Cause I'm tough. I can get through anything. I don't need much from anybody. So it's disappointing. And whoever said this, they should talk about it. Who mentioned that? Because I just went on a bus and went to the backseat.

So I never heard this story before. So thank you, Dan, for bringing it to my attention. But just to explain, I would prefer nobody. You know, I'm never going to talk about it unless whoever brought it up They can talk about it, but it's just an excuse No, thank you Dan for bringing it to to explain it to explain it to the audience when NBA team is on the road There's typically especially for a playoff game. There's a there's an early bus and then there's a late bus and then there's another bus and sometimes what they'll do is they will have like

people work for the team, especially if it's in the playoffs, hey, we're making a trip out of it, bring clients or whatever. So typically that bus that you're taking is empty. It's my bus. It's your bus. It is the bus for players and team, for team. But then the team will be like, well,

if we can bring the sponsor here, they will really think it was cool or whatever so I had no shirt on who cares yeah so and the whole idea is that the dress code kicks in when you step off that bus so when you get to the arena that's when the dress code kicks in so you getting on the bus in any shape form of fashion didn't matter I feel like we're five minutes too deep into this. When I heard that story come out, it made no sense.

I literally just laughed, and I said, I'm never gonna address it because I'm not in a position to win. Let's talk about something else. Speaking of position to win, you won game seven for Kobe when he was six for 19. You won game seven, became a champion for Kobe Bryant forever.

You carried him in that game. Actually, that was the next year. Should have been done in Houston, but I think that year was incredible. I told myself in January, because you got to think about it. I was averaging 22 or 25 in the playoffs against the Lakers. We were the only team to take him to seven. Everybody else was five. Right. So I was still,

you don't get worse from May to September. I was really good still. But when you're playing with Kobe, we know who he is and we know who Powell Gasol is and we know who Derek Fisher is. Now you got, so it was hard to find a role. And then I was really stressed in the beginning. Then in January,

I decided to be the best role player that I could be. And then when you look at that, and when you look at the rest of that season, I actually was a really good role player, you know? And that was really tough. And then in game five, Phil Jackson just briefly came to me in the locker room and said, I need you to score. And I was like, you know, thank you.

Finally, I can't wait to hear those words. And then in game six, I had 18, and game seven, I had 20. But this is not nothing new. I was always getting 20 in the game. So one of the coolest things ever was you guys win game seven. And then instantly, Dan brought up, you thanked your therapist. But my memory is you dropped a track, champions.

And so I was like, how did he record it? And then I found out you recorded it before the season even started. That's a ballsy move. I recorded that June 30th in 2009. So you hadn't even signed with the Lakers yet? No, because you had, well, I thought I was going back to Houston.

And, you know, we had a great team. When you look at that Houston Rocket team, you know, when Y'all broke his foot game three, and I love the Lakers, but Y'all mean broke his foot game three in the first quarter. So, you know, in my mind, I'm like, okay, we're winning the title this year. I need a title. I actually need a title,

because I feel like I'm the best ever, even though I'm not. title because I feel like I'm the best ever even though I'm not but I personally feel like I'm the best ever right? But so I did that record just to give me a little more of a motivation and then while we win it Literally a year later. We win it And I care and the track just dropped I got it wrong It was six for 24 that Kobe was in that game seven, not for six, six for 19. And as I recall, and you spent the next week of your life basically wandering around the streets of Los Angeles, allowing people to touch you. Yeah, for seven days I was in New Jersey.

I was in the same, yeah, the same thing. I just, cause you know, when you look at my career, I was playing, early on I was playing really well, right? We was the best team in the league, even at cause you know, when you look at my career, I was playing early on, I was playing really well, right? We was the best team in the league, even at, you know, and, and then 50-50 was me, 50-50 was the fan, but, you know, I kind of put a halt to that. So in my mind, I'm like, I'm never, the basketball gods is never going to, you know, forgive me and give me a chance to win it. And then you win it and it's like, wow, you just soak it all in. And I wish I probably didn't soak it in because I was really happy with that one title. I was just so happy I got one, honestly.

But take us, take us through the streets though. What do you remember the details of that next week where you're not taking the game seven jersey off for a week? Well, okay. So I kept my boxes on. I'm actually maybe, maybe a little less than a week. So I kept my boxes on. I went out that night, went to dinner, went to the club, um, got up with,

I was recording champions part two with Dr. Dre at 3am that night. So I'm recording champions part two. It's in his system. Um, I was really tired. Chris Brown comes into the, into the studio and he said, yo, let me get that jersey. And I'm like, wow, I was so honored that Chris Brown asked. So I gave that jersey to Chris Brown. So he got that jersey and I kept everything else. You know,

and I was in Dr. Dre's studio recording Champions Part II, you know, with a stogie. Anything else from the rest of the week that stands out? Because that had to feel like one of the happiest weeks of your life. In LA, walking around in LA as a Laker champion, and game seven, it was you. It was you. You're bailing out Kobe.

Look, I don't know what the rest of the summer was like, but I know those two weeks must've been crazy everywhere you went. Yeah, I performed with T-Pain. T-Pain did a remix of the Champions, which we never put out. I should've did the album, so I performed the remix of the Champions with T-Pain.

He killed the hook. And then I was just partying for the rest of the time. If I could do it over, honestly, I would've, I would've just went home with my family, honestly. If I could do it over, honestly, I would have, I would have just went home with my family, honestly. If I could do it over, I would have done that. Because like those moments, I'm so happy, I'm excited. But then you forget that your family is also excited.

You know, and those moments you should get out with your family, then the next two weeks you go party. So I would advise people, spend the first moments with your family, then you go into two-week you know binge Rick Fox and Derek Fisher both told us stories about Kobe as a teammate purposely challenging them purposely looking for confrontation I don't imagine a whole lot of people are doing that with you or should do that with you? Did Kobe do any of that with you, challenge you?

You know, our first practice, I know I was excited about my first practice with Kobe because even, I'm on record saying like, I love to compete in practice and even when I'm practicing as Reggie Miller and I just couldn't wait to get in practice. Even though Reggie was a little older, so I wasn't trying to do too much

because he was a little older, but I was like going hard, he's a legend. And out of respect, you want to go hard. So when I got with Kobe, I just couldn't wait for that first practice. And I remember the first drill, I can't remember exactly, but the first drill that we were on opposite sides and I was trying to go at his head and he went right back at me. And, you know, I think I got his respect. I respected him more and not even respect. I always respect him, but I just understood him more. Like this guy is the real deal. You know, the way he can take the pressure and the physicality that I'm bringing to practice. You know, so the first week of training

camp, that was the most exciting time for me because I got a chance to really compete. But then after that, me and Kobe were starters. So we stayed on the same team every drill every game we never competed after that. Meta I love you talking about intensity because you just reminded me of a quote that I don't think anyone has remembered in history which was before you were an all-star for the first time you said they can't let me in the all-star game because I'll go out there and get a flagrant foul. And you said that you didn't you weren't actually going to do it, but you were saying like, basically, I would bring NBA game intensity.

I was coming to bring it. You were bringing it, right, exactly. And then when you were an All-Star, you did bring it. You played hard. And so as you watch the All-Star game now and see how guys are decidedly playing less than hard, what goes through your mind? Well, I had somebody tell me a long time ago,

actually at the end of my career, they told me I was a practice player. So I'm like, and I was still playing well, my last year, keep in mind that in practice, I won most of the game, Luke Walton documented it. Okay, he put it in with marker, and at the end of that season I was number one in practice and I had somebody tell me that man you only bring it in practice and I said

well for one I'm the only defensive player of the year on this team you know and all star champion and I said oh also I always work hard in practice. Not because I'm trying to play and impress Luke Walton. I'm out, I'll take Luke Walton to work. Luke Walton can't guard me. I'm not trying to impress Luke. Practice, like what I would use to do, when I would, even in my prime, I look at the 13th man on the roster, the 15th man,

and I got to work harder than him and destroy him in practice. You know, and the same thing everywhere I play. I don't know how to play no other way. I'm, I'm double teaming and she open runs. You kidding me? So yeah, I, I, it's a different, it's a different mindset.

It's okay. That's how I personally feel me. And I'm never going to change how I feel about that. I know it's a different age, but that's just not me. Metas Lakers take on the Celtics in Boston Saturday night on ABC. Let's play for Meta, the sound of LeBron James saying, you guys don't want to be me, you guys don't want to be the face of the league. I don't know. Why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that cover our

game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis, they don't everybody? That responsibility, that's just weird. It's weird energy from the people that, I don't know. But Channing, he said it perfectly. He couldn't say it no better. But and say he don't know, but he said it perfectly. He couldn't say it no better, but and say he don't want it. I mean, obviously I didn't ask for it, but I knew there was a responsibility for me, not only to my family, my friends, my community,

and whoever that was gonna follow my journey throughout my career, not only in Ohio when I started there, but all over America and all over the world when I traveled all over the world. So I've always taken that seriously and understood from the beginning what being a professional was all about and being a role model was all about. So I try to hold that with the utmost respect and honor and but I feel and understand not completely understand this is weird energy when it comes to that so what are your thoughts there meta I think it's interesting you know

when LeBron first came in as a 17 year old he had 25 points against me my first his first game against you know and he was missing some big shots. I mean, you can't expect a 17 year old to come in and knock down big shots, but LeBron could always shoot. I don't know, I mean, LeBron is the, he's the best shooter in the history of the game. He got 50,000 points. And look how he's ending his career.

If you don't show his misses early, you don't think he was the greatest shooter ever. And he's a family man. He might not be perfect, you know, political, he's definitely a little political on that side. But you know, who's not, you know, and I think in terms of his family, Ackerman, I think that's really impressive. We don't talk about that enough. So I think in the same breath, sometimes you got to acknowledge that, you know, LeBron and Stephen Curry actually inspired me, you know, to just do things the right way at the end of my career. I was watching these guys like, you know, just getting inspired by high level athletes

as a retired athlete, you know, and I don't think he's perfect, but yeah, I think he does. There's a lot, but that's what comes with it. And you know what? You shouldn't want it because if you're the face, that means you're going to be a billionaire. So who cares? Meadow, one thing that I don't think took off and you were kind of the face behind it, whatever happened to the three pronged headband?

I'm going to see if we can pull it up on screen here. Why did this not take off in the NBA? What happened here? Let's talk about it. Because that's a legendary look on East here? Let's talk about it. Because that's a legendary look on East Bay. Let's talk about it. Hey, man. I don't even know why a manager would bring this to me.

Actually, no disrespect to the manager I had. He was just doing their best and trying to be tough. But this is something that, you know, this is a reason why I'm real, like picky on companies I work with. Because like, that should never have been on my head. Man, thank you. His Lakers take on the Celtics in Boston Saturday night on ABC.

I didn't want to wrap you up. I want to talk to you for another hour, but they're taking you away. They say you got to go. So thank you. Please, we hope to talk to you again. Always enjoy talking to you. Thank you for another hour, but they're taking you away. They say you got to go. So thank you. Thanks. Please. We hope to talk to you again.

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