Ron Artest gets real on his polarizing career: 'My greatest strength and weakness are the same thing—my intensity'

Ron Artest is one of the most polarizing athletes who stepped foot on the NBA hardwood. As a player, he was always characterized by physicality, energy, and fearlessness, considering that Ron-Ron was never the one to back down from the toughest challenge. However, with that mentality, Artest often found himself in various on-court altercations and fights that were far from sportsmanlike.

Looking back on his career, the versatile forward knew that his never-back-down attitude was a double-edged sword he tried to control in every possible way, sometimes more successfully and other times less so.

"I'd have to say my greatest strength and weakness are the same thing—my intensity," "Tru Warier" said in his interview with SLAM magazine. 

Great defender with a short fuse

On the court, Ron was a lockdown defender capable of easily handcuffing the opposing team's best scorer, as evidenced by his 2004 NBA Defensive Player of the Year title. However, alongside all the positives his mindset brought to championship teams, it's equally true that the same intensity, when channeled wrong, got the better of him.

The infamous "Malice at the Palace" incident remains one of the biggest blemishes in sports history, and its central figure was none other than Artest. As a result, the Indiana Pacers forward served an 86-game suspension—the longest for an on-court incident in NBA history—leading to significant introspection and growth in his career.

Due to the negative reputation he garnered from his aggressive antics in the league, Artest decided to make a drastic change. He renamed himself, hoping to distance himself from the chaos he had left behind, and became Metta World Peace.

"I changed my name because I got tired of Ron Artest, he's a [expletive]," said the retired forward. "And when fans get mad at me, they can't say, 'I hate World Peace.' World Peace is going on the back of my jersey, so Metta is my first name. It's Buddhist, but I'm Baptist."

Changing names became his thing

After that, Metta, Ron, or however you prefer to call him, legally changed his name two more times—to The Panda's Friend and then to Metta Sandiford-Artest. Regardless of these changes, he will be remembered as one of the best defenders in NBA history and a player with a short fuse who frequently made headlines with his bad-boy image.

Still, the 6'7" forward can proudly call himself an NBA champion, as he was a key cog for the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the title in 2010. Proving that his intensity, when channeled into the right things, can be an incredibly valuable intangible.