Image via Complex Original
Eleven years ago today, one of the most despicable displays of sportsmanship took place. I tried to write that in my best Jim Ross voice. Anyway, the Pistons shocked the world by beating a stacked Lakers team in the Finals the previous year, and were coming into the 2004 season with an air of confidence. Enter the Pacers, a team that featured career hotheads Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson, a young superstar in Jermaine O'Neal, the game's most clutch shooter in Reggie Miller, and had just lost to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. The two division rivals squared up in the most literal sense for their first meeting since the 2004 playoffs.
The game was chippy throughout but settled down in the fourth quarter as the Pacers began to pull away. With less than a minute left and a 15-point lead, Ron Artest gave Ben Wallace a hard foul under the rim to which Wallace responded with an even harder shove. During the commotion Artest decided to chill out on the scorer's table like he's a French girl that's about to get painted while Stephen Jackson and Ben Wallace carried on like they had no sense, and honestly Wallace never gets blamed for starting this whole thing.
Once that cup hit Ron Artest and he went into the stands, Jackson wasted no time and proved that he was both a great teammate and a fucking idiot. He had already wanted to fight the Pistons, so he took Artest going into the stands as an opportunity to knock somebody's head off.
The aftermath of this particular brawl changed the NBA forever. The league already dealt with a double standard because their stars were mostly black, although, the in-game fighting and off the field trouble paled in comparison to other major American sports leagues. In the MLB and the NHL, fighting is touted up as part of the game, and a bunch of NFL players have rap sheets as long as career criminals, but nobody bats an eye. Players fighting with fans is so common in the NHL's history that there's a compilation of those instances on YouTube. But, again, "part of the game."
Fines and suspension skyrocketed, and the very next year David Stern implemented a dress code as if you can't give a fade in some hard bottoms and a Steve Harvey suit. Fighting in the NBA doesn't happen anymore and the practice died down considerably after the Malice at the Palace. Not because of the dress code but because of the punishment.
Carmelo Anthony received a 15-game suspension in 2006 for throwing a single punch when his Nuggets fought the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. That was the last time a real fight took place. These days guys just shove and dance for the cameras.
On the 11th anniversary of the fight that changed the league forever, we look back at the Most Memorable NBA Fights of the Millennium.
Doug Christie Uppercuts Rick Fox
Date: Oct. 25, 2002
This is definitely one of the greats. Hang this fight in the rafters. Doug Christie and Rick Fox had been beefing since the playoffs prior and couldn't wait to step to each other. Fox hits Christie with an elbow and denies it like the true fuckboy he was and in turn got hit with an uppercut to the jaw. Things got so hectic, the two banged out in the tunnel and needed a swarm of security guards and the entire Kings bench to break it up. I think Christie's wife was even in the mix as well. This was a preseason game, mind you. Fox earned six games while Christie got himself two.
Shaq Tries to Kill Brad Miller
Date: Jan. 12, 2002
Remember the day Shaq tried to murk Brad Miller? The Diesel was getting hacked for most of the game—a common occurrence during his prime years—so he decided to retaliate after Charles Oakley and Miller tried to take his head off in the paint. Miller escaped death as Shaq's fist wizzed by his left ear. Charles Oakley then tackled the Laker center into the crowd instead of trying to break up the fight. All three were suspended for a total of six games with Shaq getting the most with three.
Carmelo's Sucker Punch
Date: Dec. 16, 2006
This was the last big brawl to happen after the Malice, and one who's suspensions were so large, players don't throw punches anymore. The pre-Melo trade Nuggets were trashing the Knicks and some felt like they were running up the score, including then Knick head coach Isiah Thomas, who warned Nuggets players to stay out of the lane. So when Mardy Collins took out JR Smith as he was going for a layup with less than a minute left, all hell broke loose. The scrum eventually made its way into the crowd and ended with Carmelo sucker punching Collins in the jaw. Nate Robinson being a tough guy and setting shit off, and Melo's punch and run were the highlights up until a few days later when 10 players were suspended for a total of 47 games. Melo got the harshest punishment with a 15-game suspension.
Chris Childs Shoots Kobe the Fade
Date: Apr. 2, 2000
Kobe really thought Chris Childs wasn't going to serve him a two-piece snackbox. I broke down the fun on the 15th anniversary and it's still one of the best and funniest fights in NBA history. The two of them were jawing at each other but when Kobe decided to throw an elbow towards Childs' grill, he was swiftly answered with a breast and a wing. Jelly Bean needed everybody to hold him back. This could've gotten a lot worse and happened during a time when on-court fights were a common occurrence. Childs was only suspended for two games while Kobe got one game. If this happened today, they would've missed at least a week.
