Lakers' Ron Artest set to change his name to Metta World Peace

"Metta is his official first name; which in the Buddhist tradition means loving-kindness and friendliness toward others and his last name is World Peace," his publicist said.

The basketball star is scheduled to be at the Los Angeles County Superior Court at 8:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. ET) where he will officially become Mr. World Peace.

Artest (World Peace) joins a fraternity of sports stars who have changed their names.

Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and Ahmad Rashad changed their names for religious reasons. Chad Ochocinco changed his name because .... maybe he likes incorrect Spanish versions of his jersey number?

Artest's (World Peace's) reason for changing his name seems similar to the reason that former NBA player Lloyd Bernard Free changed his name to World B. Free in the 80s.

"Ron Artest, (World Peace) has contemplated the name change for years and always knew that he wanted his last name to be World Peace but it took many years of research and soul searching to find a first name that was both personally meaningful and inspirational," his publicist said.