Lakers Legend Once Hit James Harden After Rare Mastery Ended With Blind Encounter: “I Got Really Excited”

Metta World Peace, fka Ron Artest, is known for some of his physical altercations in the NBA during his time with the Indiana Pacers. Keeping the infamous Malice at the Palace aside, the NBA champion often received suspensions and fines. However, his famous blow to James Harden was not something he had in his mind. It did create controversy and he had to pay for the consequences, but Metta shared his side of the truth.

Metta was answering a few interesting questions from fans while being interviewed by Udonis Haslem. Replying to the Harden question, the 44-year-old shared, “Shout out to Harden, I like Harden…This was in 2014…So I was playing very well. As a Laker, I was averaging 8 points my first year, you know, it was a lot of shots. So I had one particular season where I was averaging 12. That’s like averaging 20.” However, Artest let the excitement get the best of him and it turned a bit ugly. 

He continued, “I was playing against OKC and I had 16 in the first half. I was cooking…And I had about three dunks that game…I never dunk really, hardly ever. So I was super excited…He[Harden] was following me. I’m dunking to the crowd and Harden came and he shoved me in my back. It wasn’t a hard shove but I was trying to say, ‘Get up off me,'” which eventually turned into a hard elbow to Harden’s face. 

Anyhow, Metta clarified he didn’t know it was Harden but he was relieved that it was not a bad blow. Although, it did look bad! 

What are the consequences that Metta World Peace had to face due to the blow? 

The elbow sent Harden straight to the ground during the matchup. He stayed on the court for quite some time, unable to recover from the pain. It was a blow straight to his ear and thus, the referees had to give Metta a flagrant 2, which led to a straight ejection. Well, it got even worse. The league had to suspend him for seven games, right when the Lakers were heading into the playoffs. However, Metta was apologetic. 

Read More: “He Humbled Me”: Replacing Kobe Bryant on Iconic Night, Former Lakers Star Was Taught Lesson by 5x NBA Champion

Right after the game ended, he shared to the press, “I really hope he’s okay and I apologize to the Thunder and to James Harden. It was such a great game. It was unfortunate so much emotion was going on at that time.” The Lakers got a double OT win that day but also lost Metta for the first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

While the Lakers were able to overcome the Nuggets, they matched up against the Thunder in the Conference Semis, and Harden got his revenge as OKC eliminated the Lakers from the Playoffs. This also proved to be Kobe Bryant’s last-ever playoff series.

Read more: “I Hate That Image”- Former Lakers’ Star Comments On Infamous Moment With James Harden

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