On the latest episode of All the Smoke, Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller was brought to tears when his former teammate Stephen Jackson apologised for his actions during the infamous Malice at the Palace incident.
At the time of the brawl, which went down in November 2004, Miller was just starting his final season in the NBA. Jackson was suspended for 30 games due to the fight, while Ron Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season. Miller was only suspended for one game, but the damage the incident caused meant that his chances of ending his professional basketball career with an NBA title were greatly diminished.
Right at the start of the latest All the Smoke episode, they spoke about the incident, and Jackson apologised to his former teammate. "I've never had a chance to tell you that I'm sorry," said Jackson, to which Miller shook his head as if to indicate he didn't need to apologise. "We all understood what our motivation was for that season. It wasn't for us, it was for you. The whole motivation for getting things done the right way and getting the championship was for you. So I never got a chance to apologize to you for my actions."
He said that he "loves" Miller for defending him after the incident for "being a loyal teammate." Jackson said that he never had a chance to talk to Miller about everything that happened. "You don't need to say that to me, man," said Miller as he fought back tears. "You don't need to apologize to me, first of all. You young cats... those last few years in Indiana, my best years. I didn't have my superpowers, but I felt, and you guys made me feel like I was Superman. We had some dogs, man. ... That team, we were stacked, man."
The Malice at the Palace incident kicked off in the final minute of the final quarter of the Pacers' game against the Detroit Pistons, which grew increasingly intense until frustrations boiled over and players and fans started throwing punches. Miller recalled that when the Pacers played their next game, they only had "Like five or six guys 'cause everyone was suspended." Despite the suspensions, they still managed to make the playoffs.
Watch the full episode of the podcast up top.
