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Former NBA Champion Reveals New Details About 'Malice at the Palace'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Mariano | Last updated Nov 20, 2024 7:36 AM ET

The "Malice at the Palace" is one of those where-were-you-when-it-happened moments.

The infamous incident, considered the darkest stain in the history of the NBA, happened exactly 20 years ago between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Many stories have been shared about the full-on brawl, which spilled into the crowd, between the Pistons and the Pacers during a regular season game on Nov. 19, 2004. But one of the players directly involved, former Indiana forward Stephen Jackson, revealed new anecdotes about the mood in their locker room after the wild melee.

He said emotions were high until police officers arrived and told them they were going to arrest several individuals.

"We were like, 'What! Arrest? We going to jail? Hold up. We going to jail now?'" said Jackson in the "All The Smoke" podcast. "It got serious. It got serious."

He added that Pacers star Ron Artest, who sparked the entire thing by hard-fouling Pistons center Ben Wallace in the closing minutes, grew concerned.

"Ron killed the whole everything when he asked (if he was) going to get in trouble," said Jackson. "When he said that, the whole locker room was like, 'Ah, Lord, come on, bro. In trouble? Bro, you ain't playing no more this year, dog.'"

None of them got arrested.

Artest, who later changed his name to Metta World Peace, was suspended for a league-record 86 games, losing close to $5 million worth of salary. Jackson and Pacers center Jermaine O'Neal were suspended for 30 and 15 games, respectively.

Artest, Jackson and O'Neal faced charges of criminal assault for fighting with fans. They pleaded no contest and were fined and ordered to do community service.

Jackson, who won a title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003, played for the Pacers until 2007.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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