Metta World Peace aka 'The Panda's Friend' designs panda shoes

Former NBA star Metta World Peace has always been one of the more controversial athletes in the league.

There was the 2004 brawl that landed him a 73-game suspension (plus the playoffs) and 1 year probation. There was the time he defended Michael Jordan so aggressively, he broke the NBA legend's ribs. And, of course, there was the bizarre name change from Ron Artest to his current moniker. Now, it's pandas.

World Peace is changing his Chinese name to "The Panda's Friend" as he prepares to go play ball in China for the Sichuan Blue Whales. To celebrate the new opportunity, the former Lakers player has designed special shoes with — you guessed it — pandas on them. The shoes are either black or white, not both like an actual panda, and there's an actual stuffed teddy panda bear at the top of the shoe.

According to a statement from World Peace to Courtside Access, "…before every game, I will be wearing the white or black shoes. The top part of the shoe has a panda on it. I will be throwing it to a friend in the crowd. The person who catches it will be the Panda's Friend of the day."

However, following that report, World Peace tweeted saying the pandas are not detachable.

How he'll throw them to the crowd is now a mystery. Or maybe he means even if the panda bear is no longer attached to the shoe, it will always be attached to his heart.