Despite frequent controversy surrounding him, of the self-made variety or otherwise, Metta World Peace found success at virtually every stop of his well-traveled NBA career. He made Second Team All-Rookie with the Chicago Bulls, rose to stardom as Defensive Player of the Year with the Indiana Pacers and played a pivotal role on the Los Angeles Lakers' 2009-10 title team. The player initially known as Ron Artest helped guide the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets to playoff berths between more notable stints with the Pacers and Lakers, too.
The only team World Peace played for that didn't reap the benefits of his palpable, wholly unique impact? The New York Knicks, who bought out the two-year contract he signed as a free agent in summer 2013 halfway through his debut season in blue and orange.
Clearly, World Peace holds no grudge for New York, though. In fact, the Queens native and St. John's alum still regrets the fact he never got to suit up for his hometown team during his NBA prime.
“If you really wanna play with time, imagine if we could move that prime Metta to the Knicks,” World Peace said on The Hoop Chat with Emily Austin. “Imagine a prime World Peace…Come on! I wish I could reverse time. I would put myself in a Knick jersey. In my prime, not my old Metta World Peace when I can't even run anymore.”
World Peace certainly would've been a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden, his central role in the Malice at the Palace notwithstanding. But the Knicks were never a contender during his playing prime, advancing to the playoffs just once—as an under-.500 eight seed in 2003-04—before World Peace transitioned into full-fledged role player status in Los Angeles.
Maybe New York's mid-2000s fortunes would've been much different if he'd been traded back home instead of to Sacramento after his fallout with the Pacers. Dream on, Knicks fans.
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