Metta World Peace: NBA is 'no longer a man's game'

Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace came into the NBA in 1999, and over the course of his career he has seen the game change quite a bit; and not in a way he appreciates.

"It's no longer a man's game," World Peace told the Los Angeles Times. "It's a baby's game. There's softies everywhere. Everybody's soft. Nobody's hard no more. So, you just deal with it, you adjust and that's it."

Of course for World Peace, the word "hard" might not have the conventional dictionary definition. After all, this is the player who famously caused the "Malice at the Palace" incident back in 2004.

But back then Metta World Peace went by Ron Artest, was a perennial All-Star, and one of the top defensive players in the NBA. Now World Peace is in a dog fight for the Lakers final roster spot after he signed a non-guaranteed contract with the team in in September

This is World Peace's second stint with the Lakers, as he played for them from 2009-2013. World Peace played a key role in the Lakers 2010 championship run, including hitting a clutch three point shot in the final minutes of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

World Peace was out of the NBA entirely last season, and spent time playing for professional basketball teams in both China and Italy.