The spat between Metta Sandiford-Artest and Ben Wallace has always been linked to the incident tagged 'Malice at the Palace.' Both parties maintained the beef for 17 years before settling during the Los Angles Lakers-Detroit Pistons game at Staples Center this season.
Fans will not be forgetting the incident anytime soon, as it will go down in league history as one of the biggest brawls in basketball. The inside story reveals that a fan was responsible for escalating the situation, but Artest and Wallace already had a dustup earlier.
The duo has squashed their beef, and Artest believes they would bet any other duo, and it was not debatable. He has also revealed the only issue he had with Wallace. Much to our surprise, it had nothing to do with Malice at the Palace.
On the latest episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq, Artest clarified his issue with the Detroit Pistons big man, stating that it had nothing to do with the brawl.
“I never had an issue with Ben. People, they can say what they want. The only issue I had with Ben is that I feel like I got (a) couple of those awards. That’s it.”
Despite all that transpired, Artest says he respects Ben because he was able to achieve something he did not.
“I respect Ben. I enjoy the fact that somebody that loves defense so much is getting honored — and I also envy it because it’s something I wanted. Like I wanted to be the best defender in the league — I want to be one of the best wing defenders ever."
Ben and Artest were exceptional defenders but always played on opposite sides. Artest won one Defensive Player of the Year throughout his career while Ben won four.
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