Metta Sandiford-Artest reveals Michael Jordan was the only one to call him after the 'Malice in the Palace': "Don't worry, young fella"
Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly known as Ron Artest/Metta World Peace) had a great NBA career full of memorable moments, but unfortunately, the one most people know him about is a bad one.
Being a central protagonist in the infamous 'Malice in the Palace,' the incident that shook up the NBA world, Artest's career and reputation took a big hit that night. It was a tough time for Metta, but thankfully, one call from Michael Jordan made things much more manageable.
"The last time I spoke to (Michael Jordan) was after the brawl. He was the only player who called me. He said, 'Don't worry, young fella, I'm gonna try to get you back.' When he said that, I thought, 'Wow, if MJ believes in me, I'll be back.' But not even Michael could fix things with David Stern. He was tough," Artest revealed.
No mercy
MJ may have had influence around the Association, but not even he could persuade the Commissioner at the time, David Stern, to take it easy on Artest. Stern decided to make an example of the New York native and suspended him for the rest of the 2004-2005 season, which totaled to 86 games, with playoffs included.
It was a drastic punishment, especially for a guy in his prime and on the rise for the contending Indiana Pacers. That would eventually end Metta's stint in Indy and drastically change the direction of his career.
The St. John's product would never be an All-Star again, but he would manage to carve out a winning legacy by establishing himself as one of the best wing defenders in the NBA and a champion with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010. There is no doubt that Jordan's call helped Artest get back on track and move past the incident in Detroit.
Jordan and Artest had a history
That wasn't the first time Michael called Metta. The two had some previous encounters, most notably with Artest breaking Jordan's ribs during a summer scrimmage in 2001. However, MJ wasn't mad but rather pretty cool with it, as he decided to let the competitive 6'7" forward forward know that he had no problems with him.
"Then Jordan calls me, and Jordan was like, 'Hey man, it's ok. Things happen, and don't worry about it.' And then I went back to playing," Artest said. "It was one of the greatest phone calls I got in my life."
Being a competitive freak himself, Jordan could respect that Artest was going so hard even in a regular off-season scrimmage. It would make Michael remember him and actually be there for Metta during the toughest part of his basketball career.
