The Malice At The Palace
That Indy team was playing probably the best team ball of Miller’s career.
The what ifs born from this game.
Artest was on a heater offensively before this game iirc
Yeah, he was averaging 24 ppg for the 7 games he played that year.
World Peace!
LMAO LOL
I think they win the ring that year if it wasn’t for malice.
Pistons and the Spurs I’d still put above them
Pistons, not a chance. They 100% win the East, but maybe the Spurs still beat them.
Nah Detroit still goes to the finals
They eliminated the Pacers two times in the playoffs with that team. Also Ron Artest was suspended 13 times in his career. He absolutely would have went off the rails that season one way or the other.
We got the good timeline
Fun facts:
Ron Artest was averaging over 24 PPG coming into this game, along with being one of the best defenders in the league. It was super early in the season, but he was ascending to MVP candidacy as this all happened
Ron Artest asked the rest of the Pacers if they thought he was going to get in trouble after this
I still remember in his apology, he promoted his rap album that he was releasing lol
Another amazing random fact about all of this, thank you for the reminder
Wasn’t that his Tru Warier album (actual spelling)?
The second fact cracks me up
After fighting players, then goes into the stands and fights fans, and as far I know fought a random fan who was NOT the one who threw the cup.
“Guys do you think I’m going to get in trouble?”
Crazy. Also Adam Silver would likely have just given him a 5 game suspension and moved on. Considering he’s likely to let Kawhi and the Clippers organization off entirely.
Five games? Nah 3 games and fine of 20,000 for misconduct.
Years later he was playing for the rockets and went to recover a loose ball and flew into the stands. And in the post match press conference he said something like “it wasn’t my first time going into the stands”
Ron Artest was ascending to MVP candidacy
Thank you. I really thought i was the only person in the world who remembered this.
I’m not defending what Artest and the other players did, but the disproportionate amount of blame that went against the players instead of the TRASHY FANS always bothered me
If you’re going to dehumanize an athlete by throwing drinks or objects at them then be prepared to get humanized with a fist to the face
The media should’ve profiled the fans and humiliated them on national TV for being the jerks that they were (and likely still are)
Except Artest went after a completely innocent fan but ok lol
The fan he went after had a drink in his hand too lol.
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It’s the latter. As someone who has a disgraceful flair, I know
He went after the wrong guy sure, but he wouldn’t have done that if a fan didn’t throw a drink at him
Two wrongs then
One preceded the other
Was this before or after Steve Bartman?
Always felt weird that a guy like him is demonised but the guy who runs on the court and tries to spark a player out is unnamed and not shamed.
I think this was around 2 years later. Bartman was in 03
Bartman had decades of history behind it with the cubs losing all the time and he “cost them” the World Series.
Like Red Sox fans hating bill buckner for so long.
It’s also one guy to focus in on. A lot easier than remembering all the people involved in this clusterfuck
Also this was a regular season game, not a championship series like the other two were
The face of the ‘fan’ when Artest comes at him is diabolical
It should be noted that the man that Artest punched that had the “o shit” face was not the same guy that threw the drink
Do we know how rich that guy got after?
Two fans sued and settled out of court but it was never disclosed how much they got.
Every time reminds me of Bill Burr’s standup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atvQe5HHcoA
Well, they came up there.
It wasn’t even the right guy.
And then once it’s going, there are fans coming in raining punches on players who were being wrapped up.
Bullshit. I agree that the fans got away with anonymity. But, the player also receive protection from the crowd. He was not individualized because of the crowd.
Detroit fans don’t get nearly enough shit for this.
one thing from the documentary is that Artest says he was laying down on the table with his hands behind his head and knees up to “calm down”, but it could interpreted as taunting and disrespectful
Instead, the media went all the way calling them thugs and other racist shit.
Fuck the American media and fuck stern for not having the players‘ back. This should’ve begun a fucking lockdown season.
I mean this was thug activity. We just sort of support it in retrospect.
Artest was wrong for the foul. Game was over and not needed
Wallace was wrong for the reaction
The fan was wrong for throwing the cup
The pacers were wrong for going in to the stands
The palace was wrong for not having more security
The fans were wrong for throwing things and going into the floor
The nba was right for the penalties
Media was wrong for calling them thugs. It became a major talking point of white supremacist bums.
NBA was also wrong for not standing up for its players against those media outlets.
NBA went after the shorts the very next season
Wouldn’t be the first time Detroit got slandered in the media , Jordan did it in 91 and stern just stood by and said nothing
This feels like it is response to another comment. I don’t see the relevance to the OP.
A lot of media loves licking the boots of racists.
Between the reaction and the clothing policy is why I forever dislike stern and his non so hidden agenda
Atleast Stern would’ve had the aspiration to punish the Clippers.
Artest also got the wrong fan who later sued him and settled.
Absolute cinema nonetheless.
Don’t forget Reggie was screwed by all of this.
He was another casualty, wild
The initial foul wasn’t even that bad even if it wasn’t necessary. Ben had just lost his brother a few days before this game and was taking out some emotions on Ron.
Ron tried to return the foul from the last year’s playoffs game) https://youtube.com/shorts/DhgO5IeJZYU?si=A16-JeaqbT5DC-Pa
Wallace overreacted but I think his response was within reason
one thing from the documentary is that Artest says he was laying down on the table with his hands behind his head and knees up to “calm down”, but it could interpreted as taunting and disprespectful
I was grounded when this happened. My step-dad shouted for me to hurry up and come here so I came out of my room and he was showing me this. One of the craziest things I had seen in my life up to that point. Jermaine O’Neal sliding punch against that one fan. Ron Artest jumping into the stands to confront the dude who threw the cup, which he ended up going up to thw wro g person. Was crazy witnessing jt
Your step dad is a G
Props to your step dad. Were you re-grounded after this lol.
Yea lol. Bu I was being a little asshat back then so it was deserved
I remember watching this live as a little kid
I had this on as background noise while doing homework. I finished right at the initial foul and watched the whole thing dumbfounded.
Homework on a Friday night?
Get that shit done and your weekend is free!
To this day I dont think Stephen Jackson gets as much blame for this as he deserves.
Yeah, Ron Artest started a fight but Stephen Jackson started a melee (not excusing the fan who actually instigated it to begin with of course).
The Detroit fans don’t get enough blame, either.
Stephen Jackson is pretty much THE poster child for “when keeping it real goes wrong”
Absolute Cinema
It was the greatest. I remember that shit. Everyone acted like Ron was batshit crazy. David Stern acted like Ron was the spawn of Satan. He didn’t really even do anything that bad. He jumped into the stands, which was bad, but then just asked the guy “was it you?” And the dude said no.
But then you had drunk ass fans squaring off with professional athletes. That was insane. These dipshits probably paid $400 for each of those tickets. They got their money’s worth.
It was early 2000s Detroit, the tickets were prob not even $40
I always felt that Artest was in the right to retaliate when somebody threw an object at him. People need to know this sort of behavior is not okay.
The only problem was that he attacked the wrong guy.
Him immediately going to lie down and remove himself from a heated situation seems like something he was taught to do by a therapist. Only for an asshole to be an asshole. I felt bad for Ron
u have to look at the optics though, laying down with your hands behind your head and knees up on the commentators table on the road after just fouling a hometown hero can be seen as taunting and disrespectful
The last thing that happened was he got shoved really hard but didn’t retaliate
watch the documentary on netflix. he goes and lays on the commentator’s table on the sideline to “cool off” while the huge crowd is trying to separate him and wallace
thats when he got the beer thrown at his face
not saying its right, but I could see how drunk fans view laying down like that while someone’s pissed at you as taunting, like a “i dont give a shit ima just lay down here while you get mad”
You feel bad for the guy who assaulted the wrong person lol
I feel bad for the guy who was trying his best to control his anger and got a drink dumped on him (which is also assault)
It is absolutely not right to go flailing into the stands. That serves no purpose and only escalates the situation.
artest going after the wrong guy and 20 years later he still acts like that didn’t happen is the craziest part about this lol
Allegedly the guy he went after was the one who encouraged the actual beer-thrower to do it. Made a bet with him over whether he could hit Artest or something. Allegedly.
How would Artest ever come to find this out in the heat of the moment
What? He knows who threw the cup.
Wasn’t there a clip of Jermaine O’neal slide punching a DET fan lol
More like he slipped and therefore failed to successfully decapitate the guy, but essentially yes lol
JO spun that dude’s head around like it was screwed on
Artest got his buddy first
I looked this up and realized I’ve been living with a fake memory for a long time. In my fake memory, Jermaine O’Neal towers over a fan, both have their dukes up, and JO punches down and obliterates him
I was watching this live with friends. It just kept escalating…
I watched this in a crowded casino. Every time it escalated there was a loud roar from everyone watching the TVs. Everyone stopped playing everything and watched the replays for five minutes straight.
I remember watching this at an Applebee’s in Malakoff, Texas.
I remember falling to my knees at a Chuck E Cheese.
That is very specific.
Honestly didn’t find Artests foul on Wallace to be that hard
The WNBA needs a Malice at the Palace. It’s time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparks%E2%80%93Shock_brawl
After everyone calmed down, Artest asked Jackson, “Jack, you think we going to get in trouble?” Jackson replied, “Are you serious, bro? Trouble? Ron, we’ll be lucky if we still have a fucking job!”
Funniest part of the whole thing.
The guy who threw the beer is John Green and it was apparently a $50 bet. Green and Artest are now friends.
Not only did he throw the beer, after Artest ran by him to the other fan you can see him grab Artest from behind and start punching him in the head. Absolute insanity.
We got entertainment and they each made a friend 🫶. What a Friday night.
The only thing missing from this is Beef Stew.
I really need to know what ja rules thoughts were about the incident
I don’t want to dance, I’m scared to death
Didn’t some fan square up to Jermaine O’Neil and get blasted into another dimension? I’m not seeing that in this footage. It’s the best part.
Yel.
Jermaine slipped as he tried to punch which may have prevented a lot of damage
I was 14 when this happened and I still remember this was such big news that sportscenter the next morning, which normally ran on the hour repeats until like 2pm actually had live coverage of it that morning
Artest seeing death heading his way took on the entire Palace rather than Big Ben
Ben Wallace wanted ALL THE SMOKE with Ron Artest.
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I was watching this game when it happened. Not in stadium just from the comfort of my living room
Ben Wallace and Jermaine O’Neal punching dudes remains forever scary
Not in this video, but I specifically recall Jermaine O’Neal slipping while trying to blindside a fan with a haymaker - can’t imagine the damage that type of punch would’ve done coming from a 7’0” 250 lb athlete.
blindside a fan
The fan was running on the court to attack players, he got exactly what he deserved. Tell me what you would do when an arena of people are throwing shit at you, yelling at you, and running at you?
I believe the fan was coming towards Jermaine, he slipped, but still hit him.
He did, and the fan sued him but it got thrown out of court.
I gotta rewatch the documentary on this but I’m pretty sure the guy Ron Artest attacked was completely innocent. Someone else had thrown something at Artest and he just assumed it was him
The guy that threw it pointed at that guy iirc
Coward behavior
I was at this game! And i own the cup that started it all, I wrote about it like 14 years ago on this sub…the piece was picked up by yahoo sports even. Ill try to dig thru and find it. Ill post pics too if anyone wants
Absolute cinema
does Kobe win a 5th ring if malice at the palace never happened?
Butterfly effects. Would Phoenix beat the Spurs on 2007 and won the championship that year if Malice at the palace rule didnt happened? After the malice at the palace they changed the rule that any bench player who join the altercation will get suspended for the next game.
What does that have to do with anything? We beat them the year before this
does artest go to the lakers if this never happened is what I mean
Gotcha
The Lakers didn’t even make the playoffs in 2005.
I was at Dave & Busters watching it go down. It was glorious.
This was peak NBA right here haha!
“Nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong”
Dang only 45 seconds left in the game too smh
Watching the clip looks like it’s from 1970
Damn I’m old
Sliding punches, wild haymakers, and storming the stands….Malice had a little bit of everything
I don’t see why they call it Malice, they’re just talking and dancing. I guess it looks aggressive
I still don’t understand why they were playing so hard when the game is already lost
Remember watching this live on a RealVideo stream, utter chaos.
Pacers huge what if
Bruh….
What up doe?
Ben Wallace must’ve been proud
for what reason do you wear a headband like that
Remember watching this live like yesterday.
When men were men. Could you picture OKC and Chet going into the crowd
I remember looking up videos of this in computer class. 3rd grade me was shook
I remember watching this live…
This happened only a few months after the Dream Team lost to Argentina at the 2004 Olympics. The 2004-05 season then ended with a 7-game series between the Pistons and the Spurs where the scores were like 70-65 every game.
The 2004-05 season was the absoulute nadir of the NBA over the last 35 years.
Watching this in a dorm room at Michigan State my Freshman year was so much fun. Everyone was watching and you could just hear people up and down the floor losing their minds
To this day I can vividly remember watching this while it was playing in the background of some random bar I was in. Still the craziest thing I’ve seen. in the NBA in my lifetime.
This, children, is real basketball
In the end, Reggie was hurt the most from this.
I remember the post game with Stephen A Smith, Legs and Greg, they were all disgusted by it and called for them all to be suspended lol.
Veeze- Tesla Pill Deftones- Hearts + Wires
Was at a basketball tournament when this went down lmaoo
A day that reminds me not to criticize other teams or fans (as a Detroiter)
I always heard about this but I never watched the NBA until very recently
I turned the game off because it was done. Flipped back for some reason and got to witness pretty much all of it. One of the greatest live television events I’ve ever seen. Elite play by play
I need to know what punishments were levied against those involved!
I like the passion. Very few players care enough to react like this now.
Ron Artest specifically gets way too much shit for this
Brother he jumped into the stands, he’s the last person you can defend with this
Nah Artest had the hard foul, and then did the right thing by separating and tryna de escalate.
Fan throwing a bottle at Artests head while he lays down with his eyes closed needed to learn a lesson he should’ve learned years ago
Except the guy he assaulted didn’t throw anything
Wasn’t a bottle it was a paper cup full of beer.
Like how the face of the ‘fan’ enters the FO stage in this video
I’m pretty sure he went after the wrong fan, like that fan basically did nothing and Artest charged him. My face would look like that too lmao
Getting to the find out stage but not completing the fuck around stage is some terrible shit.
Well he was also assaulted, right after Ben Wallace tried to pick a fight with him over nothing. Yes he shouldn’t have done that but he wasn’t starting a fight, he was fighting back. Yet he’s the one who was branded as a irredeemable thug, lost millions of dollars, and nearly his entire career.
you’re no longer just a “fan” if you gonna throw beers and drinks at a player from point blank range.
I agree, but like I said two wrongs don’t make a right
Actually I think Stephen Jackson is the least defensible for jumping in and swinging after him. Metta is a headcase who was trying to calm down by lying down as he’d been instructed due to anger issues, and got a drink thrown at him. He deserved every ounce of his punishment by jumping into the stands but I understand him more than Jackson.
He was assaulted by a fan, literally had his shit rocked with a glass bottle… I think it’s pretty easy to understand, not that it makes it right
Two wrongs don’t make a right. Also it hit him in the chest, not the head. Not exactly shit rocking
youve clearly never had a beer bottle hit you in the chest
Have you?
100% justified
He jumped into the stands and punched an innocent guy he deserved every ounce of it.
A shitty fan took a heated but typical spat into a riot. Completely and solely the fans fault.
Edit: throwing something on the court or at a player should be an auto lifetime ban
If you get assaulted then punch a random dude it doesn’t cancel out
That was the Pacers year most definitely!
Ruined drinking at sports events. Thanks Detroit.
There are more fans than players, they should have jumped them.
Honestly ended up being good for the NBA. Fans don’t fuck around as much since.
NONE of them Pacer tough guys (Artest, Jackson, O’Neal ) wanted any part of Ben Wallace. None of ‘em. So they went after some marshmallows in the audience.