COQUITLAM - A little bit of World Peace at Centennial was a special thing on Sunday.

Los Angeles Lakers defender Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, dropped into the Centennial gymnasium and joined up with a men's drop-in game.

The "chance" occurrence actually required some effort and luck, remarked Coquitlam parks and leisure program director Robbie Loehle.

"Some of the [players] were at a club where Peace was hanging out downtown and he asked where was the best place for some basketball," recalled Loehle. "They told him that it was in Coquitlam."

The next thing people knew, Peace tweeted that he'd be in Coquitlam ready to play "if somebody brought some shoes" and the rest is history.

"What are the chances in the first few months of the program a player like Artest would drop in?" asked Loehle.

The Laker star stayed and played for nearly two hours and posed for photos with the players afterwards.

Loehle started the Sunday drop-in sessions just a couple of months ago, but it has become a staple for high school grads and post-college players, including a handful of players from the 2010 Douglas College national championship.

Peace has been in Vancouver for the past two weeks, making surprise visits to street soccer and forecasting the weather on a province-wide TV news show along with soaking up the area's scenery and nightlife.

Coquitlam's drop-in basketball programs continue to run in the summer. For more info on a program, go to www.coquitlam.ca.