Pacers Legend Reggie Miller Brought to Tears Over Stephen Jackson Apology

Seth Quinn | Apr 24, 2025

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are currently fighting to advance in the NBA playoffs as the fourth seed, facing their bitter rivals in the Milwaukee Bucks.

While the series has been physical and tensions are high, none of it compares to the Pacers vs Pistons game that led to the Malice at the Palace incident.

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That incident involved primarily Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, and Jermaine O'Neal, and left the Pacers team without some important players for a significant chunk of the season.

The incident took place in November, with multiple players and fans being involved in a scuffle that led to charges being filed. Artest was suspended for 86 games, Jackson was suspended for 30, and O'Neal was suspended for 25.

On Jackson's podcast 'All the Smoke', he had Reggie Miller on as a guest, who was the star of the team and nearing the end of his career.

With multiple key players suspended for much of the season, the Pacers' chances at a title dwindled. Miller retired after the season, making the Malice in the Palice a symbol of a bitter end to his career.

On the podcast episode, Jackson discussed how he never really had the chance to apologize to Miller for the incident, which brought Miller to tears.

Part of why Miller was brought to tears was that he enjoyed that team so much, despite the awful incident that went down. Jackson explained how that season they were trying to win a title for Miller, but he felt the team let him down.

"The whole motivation for getting things done the right way and getting a championship was for you," Jackson told Miller.

"Those last few years in Indiana [were] my best years," Miller said as part of response while tears welled up in his eyes.

The whole exchange was an emotional one, and clearly showed the bonds the players had with those Pacers teams. It is a shame the Malice in the Palace happened and made it more difficult for the team to win the title that year, but clearly the team had the chemistry to potentially make it happen.

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The fact that the Pacers ended up losing to the Pistons in the playoffs made the end to Miller's career all the more bittersweet.

Overall, this podcast episode is a must-listen given the emotions and vulnerability of it, which is rare for a podcast of athletes. Most athlete podcasts involve people giving hot takes that are clearly driven by clicks, so the emotions of this moment are a breath of fresh air.

Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller was brought to tears when Stephen Jackson apologized to him on Miller's podcast.

More Indiana Pacers News:

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Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle Talks Concern in Tyrese Haliburton Game 1 Struggles

For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.