'I thought it was too much': Metta Sandiford-Artest on Draymond Green's incidents, LeBron and Steph's greatness (Exclusive)
As someone who also mastered his defensive assignment and struggled with managing his emotions, Metta Sandiford-Artest viewed Draymond Green’s recent suspensions through both a critical and compassionate eye.
After once drawing an 86-game suspension for his role in the “Malice at the Palace” brawl, Sandiford-Artest urged Green to show more restraint after putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold (five games) and punching Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic after tussling for positioning (12 games).
“I definitely don’t want to give my opinion on how long someone should be suspended. I don’t want to get in that lane But was it too much? Yeah, I thought it was too much,” Sandiford-Artest told Sportskeeda about Green’s incidents. “But have I done too much? Yes.”
After revitalizing his NBA career both with his play and his mental health initiatives, Sandiford-Artest expressed optimism that Green can improve his on-court behavior and add to a storied resume that already includes four NBA championships, four All-Star appearances and a Defensive Player of the Year award.
“He’s still real valuable to the team,” Sandiford-Artest said. “It’s not like he’s not capable of adding value to a team. That’s really cool. His role might change. But it could end beautifully. He could play 20 seasons because he knows how to play the game.”
Interview with Metta Sandiford-Artest
In part two of a two-part interview with Sportskeeda, Sandiford-Artest also explained his recently shared list for top-10 NBA players of all time, his clairvoyance that LeBron James would break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record, why he never wanted to play with James and why he believes Victor Wembanyama will break Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point scoring record.
(Read part one of Sandiford-Artest’s interview with Sportskeeda here).
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.
You shared your top 10 list. How did you determine this order?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“Let me take you through each one. Michael Jordan won six rings, never lost in the Finals and had nine scoring titles. In today’s game, they say there are incredible individual players. But there is no one more incredible individually than Michael Jordan. No one was also a better winner. No one was a better defender. So, Michael is No. 1. He averaged 28 [points] his rookie year. Wilt [Chamberlain] is at No. 2. People say he played against nothing but firemen. But Wilt worked on his game. He played against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and dominated Kareem sometimes. Maybe the game looked different where guys were dribbling with one hand. But any guys in that era would’ve been dribbling with one hand. It was a new game. Look at his numbers.”
What about Bill Russell? Some people have voted him above Wilt Chamberlain.
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“Russell is a winner. Wilt scored more, but he couldn’t win more than Russell. He rebounded just as well with Wilt. But the winning was not even. But you have to give Wilt his flowers. Wilt was busting Russell’s ass and everybody’s ass. If they were playing against fireman, why wasn’t Russell averaging 30?”
Because Russell was blocking everyone’s shot…
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“That’s what Wilt was doing, too. Wilt did the same thing and more. From a player perspective, I think Wilt was better than Russell. Then I have Kareem after Russell. Kareem doesn’t get a lot of respect because he’s quiet. But when you look at his stats and what he did in college, he should be there. Then I have Magic [Johnson]. He gives everybody credit. He’s nice. He’s a politician. Magic has five titles and is high on the all-time assists list. He was on one team and didn’t switch. No disrespect to anyone else. But he got five rings through ups and downs. And he was the man on those teams."
"Then with Kobe [Bryant], he has a great track record. He won those last two titles without a top 75 guy, even though our team was stacked and we had Hall-of-Famers. I’m a Hall-of-Famer. On paper, I’m not. But the Hall-of-Famers that I guarded said I was pretty good, and they didn’t guard me. But Kobe won two without Shaq and dominated his era. Then I have [Tim] Duncan. He’s incredible. People sleep on him because he’s quiet. But Duncan has five rings with one team. Who was the man on that team? He was - even if there were others that got MVP. David Robinson doesn’t have a ring without him. You can’t stop him. He’s too good and fundamentally sound. He doesn’t get credit because he’s quiet, but you can’t put up another player against him and say they’re going to win a title. It didn’t happen. He dominated that area, and Kobe came close. You could argue that Duncan had a better career than my brother, Kobe Bryant.”
Why do you have Kobe over Duncan?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“Kobe is dynamic. Kobe is incredible. I think Kobe had a better career than Duncan, but it’s very close. They both won five rings on one team. I thought Kobe had way more moves than Duncan. But you can’t name any person that could stop Duncan in any era.”
How did you decide then to have Steph [Curry] at 8th, LeBron [James] at 9th and Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal] at 10th?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“How many rings does Steph have? Four. No one on those teams wins any rings without Steph. No disrespect to anybody. Steph created Hall-of-Famers. Draymond Green is going to be a Hall-of-Famer. Klay Thompson is going to be a Hall-of-Famer. Steve Kerr is going to be a Hall-of-Famer, and you’re not even going to remember that Steve Kerr played for the Bulls. That’s all because of Stephen Curry. To make that many shots and 3-point shots in the clutch to win games and win titles and it all looks impossible? He’s a winner. People can say what they want that he couldn’t play in this era or that era. But his handles are incredible, and all you would be doing is fouling him. He's smart. He’s a champion. Not only can he score the ball. He has the 3-point record, is the best shooter of all time and he’s a winner.”
"With LeBron, his career is not over yet. But with LeBron going to different teams, that’s where I give Curry the edge. Curry is not a better player than LeBron. Let’s just say that. And why does LeBron have the opportunity to go No. 1? LeBron did what it took. If LeBron doesn’t have longevity, that means his career would’ve been over a couple of years ago and his legacy would’ve been cemented. But because he’s extended his career? He’s No. 1 in scoring. He’s been to the Finals nine times and has won multiple championships. He’s been dominating since his rookie year. Wilt Chamberlain’s numbers are crazier than LeBron's. With all of the other intangibles – Michael Jordan with one team, Tim Duncan with one team – LeBron went back to Cleveland and got the title right away. So with that being said, when LeBron’s career is all said and done, no one will have had a career like LeBron. You can’t name one person. After his career is over and you crunch all of the numbers, I think he will have it sewn up. Then you can put it all in perspective."
"Shaq should’ve been No. 1. But Shaq got bored. That’s it. He got bored. That’s why he’s not No. 1. If Shaq didn’t get bored. You’re talking about a man who had way more potential than Wilt. He had the potential to put up 30 [points] and 15 [rebounds]. But I still have Shaq at 10. Name another player they changed the rules for. You can’t name one.”
Kareem in college with outlawing the dunk…
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“That was in college. But when he got to the NBA, he was dunking. With Shaq, they changed all the rules for Shaq. They fouled him every time to the point where he could’ve literally called the police and told them to come to the game to arrest these players. That’s abuse. That’s assault. People were assaulting Shaq. Imagine being abused and assaulted every night. Imagine someone hitting you on your head every night. Imagine someone smacking you on your back. Shaq could’ve had police at the game and say, ‘If you refs don’t want to handle it, I’m taking this guy to court! Arrest this player!’. They always hacked Shaq. Not only did they change the rules. They said it was okay to abuse that man. He’s No. 10, but he should’ve been No. 1.”
Victor Wembanyama has been special his rookie season. But what have you seen that tells you he will eventually break Wilt’s 100-point game record?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“He’s unbelievable. He reminds me of Wilt. He’s coming in dominating, but not quite ready. Wilt came in a little bit stronger. Remember Giannis [Antetokounmpo]? Giannis was not as filled out as Wembanyama. Giannis was skinnier than Wembanyama in his rookie year. Giannis has since come out and dominated. But Giannis doesn’t have the same skillset. No center has ever had the same skillset that Wembanyama has. Once he gets a little bit bigger and continues to get smarter works on his game and continues to do yoga, he will score 101 points. I won’t be surprised if he scores 95% of the points at some point in time. I think it’ll take him five to eight years to score 101 points.”
Speaking of predictions and records, after Kareem got his statue (in 2012), you said to me that LeBron would break his scoring record…
Metta Sandiford-Artest: (interrupts).
“Yup, yup. I also said that Steph Curry would be the MVP before he got it, and people were doubting me. You can go back on Twitter. I was calling Steph the MVP. Anybody that commented said, ‘No way!’ Nobody was talking about him being MVP [earlier in his career], but I was. I thought he would be one of the best players ever. Remember when he was becoming good? No one thought he would be in the argument for top-10. Who has him now in their top-10? A lot of people. Nobody is keeping him off their top-10.”
So in 2012, why did you think LeBron James could break Kareem’s record considering he had held it since ’84?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“I played against LeBron. So you have to look at who I played against. I’m going to talk about how the media looks at me as a defender because some people have agendas. So some don’t say my name because some people are trying to keep me off the Hall-of-Fame. But when you look at who I had to play against and who I had to guard, look at the people I had no problems with that were pretty good. Then look at the people I had problems with – Kobe and LeBron. I could’ve played 20 years just off of my strength alone. But I wasn’t able to, but LeBron has way more skills than me. I said he would definitely break his record because he’s strong. It doesn’t take him a lot of effort. He’s doing this easily. It’s not like people are grabbing him and holding him back. No, they bounce off of him. He can do this for another five years easily. He could play a quarter-century if he wants to. He may have to play differently at year 24 or 25, but it would be fun and new for him.”
Did you ever want to team up with LeBron at any point in your career?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“In my prime, I just wanted to play against all of the greats. I always knew LeBron was going to be great. So I wanted to play against LeBron. Keep in mind that I got traded from the East [from Indiana to Sacramento]. I had played against Dwyane Wade in the playoffs, and we knocked him out of the playoffs[in 2004]. So my whole mindset was the East. My mindset was with competing against Dwyane Wade and competing against LeBron. Then when all of that stuff happened (Malice at the Palace), then I went to the West."
"I had an opportunity. But in my mind, I’m so competitive. I got traded to the Rockets [in 2008]. I didn’t ask. If it were up to me, I would’ve stayed in Sacramento. From that perspective, I respect players so much that I want to play against them. It’s not that I don’t like them. I just want to compete against you."
"LeBron is the type of player that I knew was going to be great even when he was 15 or 16 years old when I played against him. In his first year in the league, he gave me 25 [points]. He told Indiana fans, ‘Is this your best defender?’ and he pointed to me. I was very upset about that. But it is what it is. He’s really good. He’s a really good player. I acknowledged that. He’s a really good player, and I respect him. But not to the point where I want to play with him. I’m also competitive.”
What’s your perspective on Draymond Green and the recent suspensions he’s had?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“A guy like Draymond and myself, we expect the most out of us. So as we get older, we can’t quite do what we used to do and it can get frustrating because you have a young bull. It’s having to deal with a young Draymond or a young Metta. No matter what you do, they’re the new and they’re going to score on you and you can’t do anything about it because they’re the young you. So I think sometimes an aggressive player like me or Draymond, that’s not a comfortable space. It's very important to understand that when you’re on your way out, you can still go out on top but not necessarily as much as a force as you once were. That whole lesson for me gave me an opportunity to put out good teaching messaging."
"I’ve been interviewed about this for quite some time. So I may not be necessarily speaking to just Draymond. But my story is out there. And maybe he comes across it and he can get perspective from it. He’s looking at a career after basketball that is going to be huge. He’s going to have a huge career after basketball. It’ll be great for him to get started once he retires. He has a lot of years left on his body, and he can still play. But it might not be at the force that he once was. He just has to feel comfortable with that.”
How did you view his specific incidents this season with his chokehold on [Rudy] Gobert and punching [Jusuf] Nurkic?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“When I got suspended, I felt like I got hit first. Then, I overreacted. But I got hit first. Then, I overreacted. When the suspension came out, I was like, ‘Damn, how long is it going be?’ I’ve done it before. When I’ve been overaggressive on the court, I’ve apologized after those moments. I think you have to do something about it. As far as suspensions, you leave that up to the Commissioner. He definitely disciplined him. I definitely don’t want to give my opinion on how long someone should be suspended. I don’t want to get in that lane. But was it too much? Yeah, I thought it was too much [the incidents]. But have I done too much? Yes. But from speaking from the perspective of an outsider looking in, it was a little too much. Maybe even pushing can be too much. But when Ben Wallace pushed me, it wasn’t too much.”
What advice would you give Draymond?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“The main advice is just to get to the core. That’s the advice to him or anybody coming behind him. Really accept the fact that you have young bulls coming. Don’t stop being great. Don’t stop being dominant. But I’m also saying that you have to understand when that new wave is coming in. You can try to dominate against them. But don’t feel bad that you can’t do what you once did. All of Draymond’s reactions came from not being able to get post position, not being able to get to the basket, or missing a shot. Those reactions came from the lack of ability that he once had. You have to be able to be cognizant of that. When those moments come, you have to be able to accept it. Still, try to win, but don’t overreact to not being as good as you once were.”
What’s your outlook that he’ll get through all of this and be more available for the team?
Metta Sandiford-Artest:
“For sure, he will. He’s still really valuable to the team. It’s not like he’s capable of adding value to a team. That’s really cool. His role might change. But it could end beautifully. He could play 20 seasons because he knows how to play the game. In the last few years, he could be a mentor. Then after that, he’ll have a whole career and life ahead of him. I think he sees it, based off of his responses. Since he’s come back, he’s seen the opportunities that he has. Hopefully, he can take advantage of it.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.