Quotes from Metta World Peace

At 19 years old, when I came out of St. John's, I was fresh out the 'hood. I was fresh out of Queensbridge.

I'm not a 'real rapper'; I just like to talk about what I've been through. When I was younger, I just said random, stupid lyrics and censored myself because I was worried about what people would think. But now I've become more mature with my words and uncensored.

Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world.

I feel like I let people know I'm not a toy.

If it was up to me, I'd have everybody's jersey different. Each player would have their separate one. I think the game should be a joy, I think the game should be colorful.

I always like to make some jokes, sometimes.

Now, you can bring up the past, but anybody can bring up the past. Even my daughter brings up the past sometimes. She makes a lot of jokes about the things that I've done.

People who have followed my career still call me Ron, and that's OK; most of the young kids call me Metta, and then everyone in China calls me Panda. In the Middle East, they call me World Peace.

With MJ and Kobe, what you get is you get people who is talking trash to you and backing it up.

I'm from Queensbridge. It's the largest housing project in New York. And growing up in Queens, it was different because I wasn't really experienced in traveling to the City. I never really got used to the City.

As a kid, New York was in my blood, and that was it. I got a chance to play for the Knicks, so it was cool, but it was towards the end of my career.

Kobe is amazing. He's extremely competitive.

I think, at the end of the game, guys gotta trust themselves more. I think sometimes - not myself, but sometimes, guys - they look to Kobe too much.

I'm not a player, I'm an alien...My focus is on winning championships. I don't focus on anything else. Aliens only want to win championships.

To me, Omarosa, she's just a nice lady, a big sister that I really love.

The Lakers, they did a lot for me, so I like it here.

Whatever is in the best interest of the Lakers, that's what's important to me.

Metta World brings championship mentality. That's it. One thing. That's what I do.

I always had the street mentality, but when you're older, you get more mature.

I coach a couple players. But it's not a thing where I'm going to hide and be that perfect mentor. I just give them the best advice I can and live my life accordingly.

I have a street mind. My whole mindset when I first got to the NBA was, 'I'm bringing that street to the game,' and, 'I'm going to be the hardest guy on the court; I'm going to be the hardest guy on the planet.'

If someone is not playing defense or not giving effort, that's my specialty. I don't hold back on my words.

I'm not afraid to improve myself spiritually, emotionally, economically. I'm not afraid to take on that challenge.

Sometimes it's good to be ready for the unpredictable. I'm glad that I can go through unpredictable situations. It's a good thing.