Metta World Peace is genuinely impressed with Jake Paul's boxing career -- telling TMZ Sports the guy is "legit" and loves the fact he's chasing his dream
The former NBA star -- who's a big boxing fan -- loved watching Paul knock out Ben Askren over the weekend ... and explained why it's the latest in an "incredible" journey for the 24-year-old YouTube star.
"I like Jake Paul, because I think anybody who has a dream should go after that dream," Metta told us outside of Toast in L.A.
"I think whats incredible about it is he's doing it!