Next summer, Metta World Peace will make his return to the basketball court.
No, it won't be in the NBA, where the artist formerly known as Ron Artest played for 17 seasons, it will be in Ice Cube's three-on-three league, the BIG3. Perhaps most notably, World Peace will be joining up with his former teammate, Stephen Jackson.
The man known as Metta World Peace is bringing his talents to the Big 3. On Monday, Ron Artest will announce that he's joining former teammates Stephen Jackson and Charles Oakley as a member of the Killer 3s ahead of the league's second season.
Jon Tayler: So why the Big 3?
Metta World Peace: I'm coaching also, for the South Bay Lakers. I'm joining the Big 3. Playing basketball all year. I actually played in a couple of leagues outside the NBA. I love to play basketball, so the Big 3 is cool. Some of my good friends are in it. I watched it last year and I liked it.
JT: What was the pitch like?
MWP: Stephen Jackson asked me to play with him last year, and Jermaine O'Neal too, and I told Steve that I would play with him this year. I couldn't play last year because I was coaching, among some other stuff. But this year I'm going to do it. I made my schedule around it. It's going to be exciting.
The Killer 3's already feature Jackson and Charles Oakley, so there will be no debate next season about which BIG3 team is the toughest. But for all their intimidation factor, they'll need World Peace to actually help them basketball wise. Last season, the Killer 3s finished in last place, winning just two games all summer as captain Chauncey Billups was frequently unavailable.
World Peace, who did not sign with anyone after last season, is currently working with the Los Angeles Lakers' G-League team, the South Bay Lakers, as a player development coach.
