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Metta Sandiford-Artest just became a big Blake Griffin fan … and it’s all a result of the new Celtics forward’s decision to rock #91 in honor of the great Hall of Famer, Dennis Rodman!!
TMZ Sports spoke with Metta out in Beverly Hills this week … and he was pleasantly surprised to learn Griffin was paying respect to Rodman’s legacy with his jersey number this season.
“That’s incredible,” the 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year said about Griffin’s number change. “That’s great to hear. I’m a big Rodman fan, and now I’ll buy the jersey.”
Griffin — who signed with the Boston Celtics as a free agent last week — confirmed to reporters after his first practice with his new teammates that the reason he is going to wear the #91 is to pay homage to Rodman, the 5-time NBA champ.
Artest — who played 17 seasons in the NBA with the Pacers, Knicks, Kings, Rockets, Lakers, and Bulls — earned a reputation for his physical style of defense … and was one of four players to wear the #91 in NBA history.
The other three are Mindaugas Kuzminskas (New York Knicks), Deividas Sirvydis (Detroit Pistons) … and, of course, Rodman.
There’s more — Metta retired from the NBA in 2017, but it may not be long before we see another Artest in the association — because MSA tells us both of his sons are still pursuing their hoop dreams.
“They both play basketball, they love it, and we have a good time.”