Forward Metta World Peace got through the first step on his comeback by earning a spot on the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular-season roster on Monday.
The 35-year-old World Peace, who was formerly known as Ron Artest, has been out of the league for 19 months. The Lakers waived guard Jabari Brown instead to get down to 15 players ahead of Wednesday’s regular-season opener.
Last month World Peace was signed to a nonguaranteed contract by the Lakers, the team that waived him two years ago under the salary-cap amnesty clause.
World Peace was a member of the Lakers’ 2010 NBA title team, and he spent four seasons with the Lakers.
World Peace played 29 games as a member of the New York Knicks in 2013-14 before getting waived. The last time he played in an NBA game was Feb. 21, 2014.
He played in China and Italy last season, and was an assistant coach for a girls high school team in suburban Pacific Palisades.