The Lakers forward referred to coach Mike Brown as a “fat-ass” — albeit with a smile — while talking to reporters about LA’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the NBA playoffs, according to ESPN.com.
World Peace was addressing the challenges of this season’s switch from longtime coach Phil Jackson to Brown, when he let the comment slip. But the chide was actually attempting to deflect blame from Brown, explaining Brown wasn’t the one on the court making mistakes.
“Mike wasn’t out there guarding Kevin [Durant],” World Peace said. “That was me. Kevin scored on me. Mike didn’t throw turnovers at the end of the game. Mike didn’t miss a 3-point shot, I missed a 3-point shot. Mike didn’t come in out of shape.”
When he noted that Brown was not the one who had come in out of shape, World Peace hesitated and then corrected himself.
“He did come in out of shape,” World Peace said. “Actually, he is a fat-ass.”
World Peace also expressed a slightly more basketball-related opinion, saying that he believed the Lakers were a better team than they showed in the series.
“[We] definitely underachieved,” he said. “We were the best team in the NBA and lost in five [games]. The best team in the NBA should be up 3-2 and playing tomorrow, but the [Thunder was the] better team that took advantage of the moment, that took advantage of their time, they seized, they grabbed it and they held on to it.”
In his first year as the head coach of the Lakers, Brown guided the team to a 41-25 record in the lockout-shortened season, good for first place in the Pacific Divison. He owns a 313-163 career record over six seasons as a head coach.
By comparison, Jackson had a record of 67-15 in his first year as head coach in LA, a season that saw the Lakers win not only the division, but also the NBA championship. Jackson finished his 20-year coaching career with a record of 1,155-485 and an NBA-record 11 titles, with a record of 610-292 and five titles during his 11-year stint in Los Angeles.
