Reggie Miller joined his former teammate Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on the latest All The Smoke and Stak had to get right to it — the Malice at the Palace.
“I never got a chance to apologize to you.”
Stak has a heart-to-heart with Reggie Miller over his role in Malice at the Palace.
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Stak wanted to apologize to Reggie, saying he and his teammates were all motivated to get things done the right way for Reggie that season as Reggie was nearing the end of his legendary career. But that said, Stak loves Reggie even more because Reggie always stood up for him, knowing that his role in the whole debacle in Detroit stemmed from being a loyal teammate and nothing else. All of this got Reggie choked up, with the Pacers legend saying no apology was necessary. Reggie says those young cats on that Pacers team helped make those last few years of his career his best years. Reggie knew he didn’t have his “superpowers” anymore, but those guys made him feel like he was Superman. He said he played on some great “could’ve, should’ve” teams in Indiana, but that 2004-05 team was STACKED, with the best interior defender (Jermaine O’Neal) and the best perimeter defender (Ron Artest).
Reggie says Stak doesn’t have to apologize because that’s life, that’s basketball. Stuff is gonna happen and even though the Pacers were short-handed the remainder of the season that team was truly a band of brothers in every sense of the word and those young cats made it a great year.
Reggie says that night, the Pacers were looking to prove themselves and make a statement on the road after falling to Detroit the previous year in the playoffs. And they were doing that until all hell broke loose. Stak points out that he wasn’t with Indiana the previous year, but that didn’t matter. He was loyal to the end. Reggie notes that the Pistons didn’t like the Pacers, and the feeling was mutual. But he remembers being with Artest at the scorer’s table, kind of trying to calm him down. Reggie says Ron didn’t see the cup coming, but he did. In 3D slow-motion. And Reggie said to himself, “Oh, S***!” In Reggie’s words, Artest turned into the Hulk and it was on. Now, Reggie says at that point it’s ride or die and he didn’t care about suspensions or anything else, he had to get Artest to safety somewhere. The whole situation may have been quicker than people remember, but there was a lot of damage done in that minute and a half or so. It was crazy, with police nearly macing Miller and Artest instead of dealing with the fans streaming onto the court. Despite all this and after people initially saying the fans’ behavior was unacceptable, by the time the Pacers had landed back home, the narrative had flipped and Reggie said it felt like the players were on their way to Rikers Island. Reggie felt like a picture of the players was painted that was not accurate, hewing to bad stereotypes. Something none of them were. And while noting in life is guaranteed, Reggie says he would have LOVED to have seen that team at full strength against whomever.
Watch or listen to the full episode below and keep an eye on DraftKings Network for new episodes of All The Smoke every Thursday at 6 p.m. ET!
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Reggie Miller: Reflections on Malice at the Palace, Fighting Kobe & Jordan, & Cheryl’s GOAT Case
- NBA legend Reggie Miller joins All The Smoke for an unfiltered sit-down covering everything from Malice at the Palace to his iconic battles with Michael Jordan and trash-talking with the greats. He opens up about growing up with Cheryl Miller, mentoring Kobe, his sneaker game, and what he regrets most in his career. Plus, Reggie calls Spike Lee live and reveals his dream dinner guests, all-time best album, and 2025 NBA title pick.
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