"I knew that Jordan was somebody I always wanted to be like" - Metta World Peace reflects on being drafted by the post-Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls

Metta World Peace, who was known back then by his original name Ron Artest, missed out on playing for the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan. Jordan was already two years into his retirement when the Bulls drafted Artest as the 16th overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft.

Michael Jordan’s former team had the worst record during the 1998-99 season, which helped the Chicago Bulls land several first-round picks in 1999. Elton Brand, who was the No. 1 overall pick, and Ron Artest were two of the Bulls’ prized rookies. Their addition to the roster, though, barely kept them in the winning column.

In an episode of Bootleg Kev, Metta World Peace, now Metta Sandiford-Artest, explained how difficult it was to play for the rebuilding Bulls:

“That was tough coz I’m really competitive. That’s one of the reasons I got traded because I didn’t really care what my skill level was, but I couldn’t take losing and I knew that Jordan was somebody I always wanted to be like… I really loved his defense, so I always tried to be like him on defense.”

Metta World Peace continued with some profound insight on his early years with the Bulls:

“But in order to be successful there, you gotta set the bar. Jordan set the bar, so I’m gonna try to reach that, but then when I don’t reach it, I wasn't able to deal with the adversity like saying’ You lost and it’s cool.’ It’s not cool! Back then it wasn’t cool versus now, which is like.”

In Ron Artest’s first two years in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls finished 17-65 and 15-67, respectively. The fiercely competitive nature of the former NBA Defensive Player must have rebelled against his team’s horrible showing.

Complicating the issue was the Bulls’ apparent strategy to get higher draft picks by tanking, which wasn’t a strange concept back then.

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Looking back, Metta Sandiford-Artist wished he could have learned the intricacies of drafting and roster construction to help him early in his NBA career:

“I didn’t really understand that part of the business [tanking]. I probably could have dealt with losing if we could have did something about it, but when you are tanking on purpose, that’s a little difficult.”

Two-and-a-half years after he was drafted by the Bulls, Artest was traded to the Indiana Pacers. Chicago swapped him, Ron Mercer, Brad Miller and Kevin Ollie for Indiana’s Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norm Richard and a conditional second-round pick. It was with the Pacers that Artest would have his best years in the NBA.

Metta World Peace tried to pattern his defensive game after Michael Jordan

Ron Artest was the 2003-04 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. [Photo: 8 Points, 9 Seconds]

Before Michael Jordan retired after the Chicago Bulls' last championship, he was one of the team's defensive anchors. Together with Scottie Pippen, they formed one of the most devastating defensive backcourts the NBA has ever seen.

Ron Artest followed in Michael Jordan's footsteps on defense. The then-Bulls rookie averaged 1.7 steals per contest in his rookie season in 1999. Despite his young age, he quickly emerged as the team's best perimeter defender. He grew in stature as a defensive force even after he was traded by the team that drafted him.

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Barely four years into his NBA career, Artest was voted the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, an award which he has in common with Michael Jordan. However, as good as Metta World Peace became on defense, he never reached the same peak as His Airness.