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.
https://t.co/2ugHUctbZv pic.twitter.com/skYk5jukST
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) October 3, 2022
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."