Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace won an NBA championship together with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010. It was truly a special moment for two teammates who had mutual respect with each other.
But before they ever got together on the Lakers, World Peace, then known as Ron Artest, and Bryant were very fierce competitors. In a special documentary called Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story, the Black Mamba revealed that, prior to becoming teammates, every time World Peace tried to give him an elbow, he would always try to hit back twice as hard.
“A lot of players would let him get away with stuff but every time he hit me with an elbow I threw one back at him and twice as hard.” – @kobebryant #QuietStorm | @BleacherReport pic.twitter.com/R5Uro4tjbW
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) June 1, 2019
Prior to their title run in 2010, Bryant and World Peace, who was then a member of the Houston Rockets, faced off against each other in the 2009 Western Conference Semi-Finals.




The Rockets predictably assigned World Peace to try and contain Bryant, and it's safe to say that those two were in an intense duel throughout the series. In the fourth quarter of Game 2, Bryant elbowed World Peace right on the chin as they jockeyed for position. World Peace took exception to the hit, confronted Bryant, and got thrown out during the crucial juncture of the game.
The Lakers, of course, went on to win the series and the title that season. But World Peace would soon get his after joining forces with Bryant in Los Angeles in the ensuing off-season.
World Peace, in fact, sealed the deal for the Lakers in their Game 7 title-clinching victory over the Boston Celtics with a dagger three-pointer to secure the back-to-back for the Purple and Gold.