The Pandas Friend: Why Metta World Peace AKA Ron Artest Changed His Name, Again

Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, now wants to change his name to “The Pandas Friend.” It was first thought the basketball player wanted to be known as “Panda Friend,” as reported by China’s English-language China Daily, but he took to his official Twitter account to set the record straight.

Guys my chinese name is not "Panda Friend" , its "The Pandas Friend".
— mettaworldpeace.com (@MettaWorldPeace) August 7, 2014

There was no explanation for the lack of an apostrophe (nor for the previous misspelling of "meta").

The athlete, 34, used to play for the New York Knicks before going to the Chinese Basketball Association's Sichuan Blue Whales. He was paid $1.43 million to play another season on the team, which makes him the highest-paid player in the league, according to China Daily.

So why does Metta World Peace want to go by “The Pandas Friend” (without an apostrophe)? He said it's all in honor of China.

I'm changing my name for the China this season !!!! You guys will love it
— mettaworldpeace.com (@MettaWorldPeace) August 1, 2014

Twitter users couldn’t help but comment on the name change, with many taking to the 140-character social media site to share memes about Metta's new name. Some of their posts have been listed below:

I can get with @MettaWorldPeace as Panda Friend. pic.twitter.com/bduZz6Ii9N
— Shahana Shah (@shahanamama) August 7, 2014

“@MrEddieHuang: .@MettaWorldPeace welcome Friend pic.twitter.com/Q1ZtW5cRIe” bae
— snow angel (@whiiiteout) August 7, 2014

OK RT @MettaWorldPeace: Guys my chinese name is not "Panda Friend" , its "The Pandas Friend". pic.twitter.com/ppl9DdRID2
— darth™ (@darth) August 7, 2014

From Ron Artest to @MettaWorldPeace to now Panda Friend ... by far the best name. Just look at it :) pic.twitter.com/4urE0rIvnh
— STΛNCE (@StanceBranding) August 7, 2014

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