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Lakers Legend Who Won 1 Championship With Kobe Bryant Might Return to Coach LeBron James

Published 05/20/2022, 10:00 AM EDT

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Metta Sandiford-Artest, formerly known as Ron Artest, has faced the most controversy in the league. In his initial years, he was a phenomenal player and was expected to lead his team to a championship. With more new and reliable additions to the team, Ron finally had the chance to win a ring.

But just then, Ron had been involved in the most horrible event in NBA history. ‘The Malice at the Palace’ was basically a fight that took place between the players and the fans, which ended with multiple players being suspended and fans being charged. This stain could never wash off Ron’s career.

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After a shaky NBA career, Artest might return to coach LeBron James and company

Artest was not a bad player after all. On the court, he was great, as he averaged 17 points and 5 rebounds in his prime, playing for two teams. After the ‘Malice at the Palace’ night, Ron was suspended for the remainder of the season. His time with the Pacers was decent.

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He was later traded to the Kings and then the Rockets. In 2009, he signed with the Lakers and went on to win his first championship beside Kobe Bryant.

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At the time, he had changed his name to Metta ‘World Peace’. It might’ve been a great decision, as he won a championship the following year. Now, the former NBA champion is looking to become a coach in the league and might return to his former side.

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However, when it comes to his coaching career, Artest does not have any experience in coaching a professional basketball team. But he is experienced as a player and veteran.

Artest’s coaching experience

Ron was a player development coach for the G-League team, South Bay Lakers. Other than that, he has no resume in professional coaching. And to coach a team full of veterans and superstars would require a lot of critical decision-making and game plan. The Lakers parted ways with their head coach Frank Vogel right after the end of the regular season. The team that was expected to be championship contenders didn’t even manage to make the Play-In tournament.

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The Lakers are now looking for a new head coach as they adjust their arsenal for the next season. It will be interesting to see if the Lakers would accept their very own former player as their new head coach.

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Written by:

Balraj Singh Babrah

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Balraj Singh Babrah is an NBA writer with EssentiallySports. He has been an NBA fan since 2016, and watching Curry shoot from distance inspired him to play basketball. Additionally, he loves analyzing and predicting games based on stats.
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Edited by:

Arunaditya Aima