This year's Los Angeles Lakers features a cast of different stars who've each formed a reputation around the league. One Laker in particular doesn't have the most polished reputation, but still doesn't see why he would have a negative reputation as it is.
The Lakers Metta World Peace is defending his style of play, according to Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times:
"The young generation coming up is being mixed with this old generation that's kind of slowly going out. And George Karl knows," World Peace said in reference to his flagrant 2 foul for an elbow to the Denver Nuggets Kenneth Faried in a game last Monday. "Come on. He's been in this NBA longer than me. He knows the era of basketball."
He then explained how he grew up playing basketball, and how he's an "old school" type of player, and not a "monster" as many current fans and/or coaches often label him:
"I came to the NBA in '99. I started watching NBA basketball, like, in '95. The Knicks, Miami, I was a fan of those type of playoff series that took place in the NBA on TV and I wanted to play in that atmosphere. So as a young kid I had to make a decision: I'm not going to be scared to play in that type of game. That's my mind frame. You look at [Michael] Jordan against Detroit, Jordan had to grow. They were bullying him. So I'm like, 'OK, that's never going to happen to me. When I get to the league, I dare somebody from, like, the Detroit Pistons to try to bully me.'
I was in the league when I was a rookie, I remember Alonzo Mourning saying, 'You come in here again, young fella, blahblahblah.' I went in there again. Nineteen years old. Do it."
So far this season World Peace has earned himself five flagrant foul "points." If he gets one more "flagrant 1," he'll be suspended for one game and if he receives another "flagrant 2," will be suspended two games.
