Reggie Miller & Stephen Jackson Reflect on Malice at the Palace

FULL EPISODE: https://youtu.be/f49w3aQfOvQ

Twenty years after the infamous “Malice at the Palace” incident, Pacers legend Reggie Miller and former teammate Stephen Jackson sit down for their first candid conversation about that chaotic night in Detroit. Jackson offers an emotional apology while Miller shares his raw, unfiltered perspective on how the brawl impacted their careers and the NBA forever. This rare conversation reveals a side of Reggie Miller fans have never seen before.

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But let’s get this out the way. Madison the Palace. Let’s go. Get this part out the way. A lot’s been told about it. Um me personally, I’m glad to see you because this I’ve never had a chance to tell you that. I’m sorry. No. U just let me finish though because like I 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 you for my actions. Now, with me saying that, I love you even more because you defended me because you knew that I was just being a loyal teammate. I wasn’t, you know what I’m saying? I wasn’t out there being a thug or nothing like that. So, it meant a lot to me. But, we never had a chance to talk about it during the time uh has passed. So much time has passed. How how have your relationship been with guys that was involved and guys that was on our team? First of all, I got to take a drink cuz told you I didn’t want to go there, man. I’m trying to hold mine in. All right, let me You don’t need to say to me, man. Come on, man. So, you don’t need to apologize to me. First of all, you young cats. And when I say young, I mean Jamal, Germaine, Al, yourself, Ron, 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. We had a squad that was arguably and I played on some Indiana teams that were destined, should have, could have, but always came short. That team, we were, we were stacked, man. We had the best interior defender in Germaine. We had the best perimeter defender in my opinion to this day. and Ron just acquired a guy and it’s a lot like in 1994 when we traded for Byron Scott and I know we’re going to get into mentors and all that stuff in 1994 under Larry Brown and all that. We got Byron halfway through the season and he taught us what winning was all about coming from the Lakers him being a champion. you coming having been a champion with these young guys. We had just lost to Detroit the year before without you and we smacked them there. But you don’t need to apologize because that’s basketball. That’s life. You know, shit’s going to happen. And even though we were short-handed, I mean, how you were 15 games or 30 games? 15 games. Started off at 30 though, right? No, I know. I mine got 30 uh 30 game suspension. Yeah, you’re right. Was 30. Okay. Those last four to five months when we were short-handed. Bander Brothers, like when people talk about Bander Brothers, I mean, people forget we had to play the next night with like five or six guys cuz everyone was suspended. Still made the playoffs. And still made the playoffs. That was the best, man. You young cats. You know what, Rachel? It it bothered me because after, you know, some time passed, I had a conversation with Rick and he told me that they actually came to you before they signed me because they knew you were on your way out and you actually vouch for me without even knowing me. I knew your body of work and that’s all that mattered to me. Well, when a guy like you, Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever do it, vouches for you, somebody I’m even going to take it a step further. When they came to me, I went to them and said, “Bring me off the bench. That dude needs to be starting. Think about what the starting five would have been with you and Ron in there. I was like, “Bring me off the bench.” And Rick looked at me crazy. He’s like, “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Same way I’m looking at you. No, but that’s how I want I that’s how I felt and perceived your game a lot. I was like, “Start him.” He’s like, “No, think about this.” And he knew I didn’t have my superpowers that last year. Start you. who’s gonna be able to guard this dude in the second unit. And that’s how we got him. We got We got him. That’s how it work. It’s like, okay, but I’m just letting y’all know I’m cool with it if this dude is starting and I’m backing them up. I’m all right with that. But those were people don’t understand that that night was surreal because Detroit had they were the defending champs. We were coming off in my mind in my mind the replay loop of Taan blocking my [ __ ] I want to get back. I’m hurt. I’m in the cast. But we going in. See, I always prided myself doing stuff on the road. Everyone can play at home. Everyone’s good. Everyone talks [ __ ] at home. Everyone, you know, you got your your girl, your family, whatever. everyone. What how are you with 12 versus 20,000 when you go into real enemy territory? That’s how I always viewed myself, my game, my team, my all my teammates. How are you when you go into someone else? We went into Detroit after we’re like, we’re going to make a statement and we kicked the dog [ __ ] out of them. We were 15 until Do you know Do you actually know what was said in the game? Because I don’t I don’t know if you ever heard that story. Jamal Tinsley. I’m at the free throw line. Yes. He tells Ron, you can get your B. You can get your lick back. I turned around. I’m like, bro. Yeah. I’m like, so when I heard that Ron was uh guarding Ben when I when I after I made the free throw, you see, I ran back down and pushed Ron off and I guarded Ben. Yeah. And when he got they threw the ball to Ben, I just let it’s a to time running out. So I just let him score and that’s when Ron got the foul anyway. Wasn’t even guard. But what was the lick back? What happened? what it led to that it was something from the previous in the finals in the East Conference finals that the year before the rivalry was built there. I wasn’t there so I didn’t know but you know I’m loyal. Yeah. And that’s how it started which to a point they didn’t like us. We didn’t like them. I mean okay. All right. I mean that’s what it is. All right. I I get it. But then once people again go back to the tape and by the way you and J did a great job of putting this all in words and in film on the Netflix Malice at the Palace. Um I’m over there with Ron just stroking him while he’s laying on the scores table thinking everything is diffused. Everyone’s talking. I mean that’s how you know those scrums go. Everyone puffs out their chest and everyone breaks it up and tech here double tech. Let’s shoot some free throws. Let’s get on out of here. That’s what we thought until cuz Rod didn’t even see the cup coming. I did in in slow 3D motion flying down. [Laughter] Bam. And then I said to myself, “Oh shit.” Oh [ __ ] And he was gone. Bam. He turned into the Hulk. M he turned green and that’s bad. And I tried to grab him, but he was gone. And I said to myself, it’s ride or die. I mean, I didn’t care about myself. I had to get him back into safety somewhere on the floor. Yeah. And I didn’t care about suspensions at that point. I don’t even know when you jumped in. You did you go when he went? Soon as I saw him go, I hopped over. I was gone. So I went right after him. And it was I mean people think it lasted like you know 20 minutes 15 minutes. It was like a minute and a half, two minutes. I mean it was quick. It was quick but there was a lot of damage done in that minute and a half. I don’t know how I think Chuck Pson somehow we got Ron back on the floor. Yeah. And it was even crazier on the floor. Yeah. With you. the police come up, has his mace out and getting ready to spray Ron and I. I’m like, “What is your problem?” And he’s like, “We got to calm this situation down.” I’m like, “Yes, you do. You see all those people that are coming down on the court. Go get them. We got this. We’re at center court.” It was crazy. It was. And then trying to get into the tunnel and the beer and the popcorn and the spit. Man, it was it was bananas. And it’s funny when it went down, the fans are deplorable. This is unacceptable. How can this happen? Immediately. Mhm. That’s when we were in the locker room. It’s all about the fans. By the time we landed in Indiana, I felt we were all headed to Riker’s Island. Yeah. They flipped the whole narrative. Every They everybody getting arrested. We getting arrested. [Music] Stern Stern called someone like, “No, it was it was us. We were the villains.” And I mean, you started by saying calling yourself or someone called you a thug. I I don’t like that word. I don’t like that word because they tried to put us under certain stereotypes, African-American, black, however you want to call us. And it painted us as they painted a picture of us that was not accurate. Something we’re not. Yeah. Something none of us were. All of us weren’t. And it hurts some of us. You know, nothing’s guaranteed. Championships aren’t guaranteed. You know, you got a chip. You got a chip. Max got a chips. I came close. I could never get over the mountain tops. It It’s not guaranteed we would have won that year. But damn it, I would have loved to have seen us at full strength against whomever matter whomver because like I said we had everything. We had scoring, we had defense, we could play slow, we could play fast with Jamal, we could play big, we could play small. Was Jonathan Bender there at the time? Yes, we had youth. Yeah, I was the old head. We we had everything. We were well coached. You know, Carlile, championship coach himself. But don’t you ever apologize to me or to anyone else. That’s life. That’s basketball. [ __ ] happens, man. Yeah. I was honored to be on that team again. Y’all made me feel like Superman. You were to us. And I mean, just being around you every day in practice, it was it was a different I came from, you know, I came from Chris Mullen and Mark Jackson, Derek McKe. I mean, we were Sam Perkins. We were an old team that went to the champ. Not old, but veteran older team. Older team. And then once we got to the finals and lost to the Lakers, Germaine comes in. Al Harrington. We draft Al. I mean, we went younger. Larry’s gone, Larry Bird is gone, Isaiah’s in. So, it was a different vibe, different. And that’s just how it was. And I said to myself, how can I get Germaine and Al Harrington, baby Al, Jonathan, how can I get these young guys thinking like veterans and turn the switch as quickly as possible because I only had so I knew I only had so many years left. And that’s, you know, I wrote them hard. I talk [ __ ] to them a lot because I wanted to see the name of the show, All the Smoke. I wanted to see if they could handle it because if they can’t handle it from me in practice, how in the hell are they going to handle going into the Garden, going into Philly with AI, going playing Detroit, the new bad? I mean, how y’all going to handle that if y’all can’t handle me riding you every single day in practice? That’s my job is to ride y’all, get you to a place where nothing phases you. And they did. And you know with the help of my David boys because Al was with us with uh Dale and and Antonio. So he was around them a lot. Yeah. Same with Crow and Jeff Foster. Feisty. So they were around. They understood. You know we when we walk we walk with our chest out. We talk [ __ ] We don’t don’t ever take a step back man. Don’t take a step back. If anything take two steps forward. That’s why when you me going in the stands, you going in the stands. We’re taking step forwards, man. I ain’t taking a step back at all. Okay, you you can find me. You can s suspend me. You can talk [ __ ] about me all you want, but I’m gonna do what’s right. Yeah. That’s my teammate, right? That’s going out there who just got assaulted. Yeah. With a cup full of beer. You don’t know what was in that. And he’s going to go handle this business. I I have to go. I have to go. Mhm. Because if you don’t go later on in the locker room, and you know how locker rooms are, you don’t want to be called out. You know, you be called, man. You know, damn. Come on, man. And and here’s what’s going to happen. Buddy’s going to come out. Film film session. We’re going to be like this. Coaches, y’all go. Y’all y’all can go. We’re good. And slow-mo. Yeah. Like, what you doing? Where are Where are you? Hold on a second. Where are you? That’s what I was Let me I’ll rewind it. So, what did you say? You said you were where? Yeah. Holding each other accountable. That’s why that’s why I wanted to get the young gate. We had to hold each other accountable. And it started with the young guys.