• The ‘Malice At The Palace’ refers to an infamous brawl between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers in 2004
• The brawl started when a fan threw a cup of beer at Ron Artest, prompting the Pacers’ wing to go into the crowd and retaliate against the fan
• The game is infamous for all the suspensions that were ultimately handed out, with Artest missing 86 games
The ‘Malice At The Palace‘ was a dark moment in NBA history, as it saw players and fans come to a physical altercation during an NBA game early in the 2004-05 season. While fans instigated the brawl, the tipping point was Ron Artest retaliating by jumping into the stands to hit someone who threw beer at him while he was meditating.
Artest was speaking to Emily Austin of The Hoop Chat and reflected on the infamous brawl.
“I feel like Malice would’ve happened anyway. Even if I was calm, or whatever the case may be, I was calm. I was actually breathing on that table, kind of going through some real-time meditation. You couldn’t prepare for someone to hit you, so that would’ve probably happened regardless… It was a red cup of beer. I don’t even know what’s going through my mind because it happened so quickly. It was like half a second where I got up. I was like, ‘No way nobody just hit me’. I was furious, as you could see.”
Artest ended up being suspended for 86 games and only played 16 times for the Pacers after that, requesting a trade and ending up with the Sacramento Kings midway through the 2005-06 season.
He’d spend two seasons with them before playing for the Rockets and then having the most famous stretch of his career, as the 3-and-D stopper for the title-winning Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
What Happened At The Malice In The Palace?
The ‘Malice in the Palace’ is a term used for the brawl between the Pistons and the Pacers in Detroit’s The Palace of Auburn Hills Arena on December 11, 2004.
Both teams had an intense rivalry at the time as arguably the two best teams in the Eastern Conference and coming off a rough playoff series matchup which the Pistons won en route to their 2004 title. With the Pacers having a 15-point lead with less than 50 seconds left on the clock in this regular-season game, Ben Wallace went for a dunk which upset Artest.
Artest fouled Wallace from the back, which prompted Wallace to shove Artest as well. Both teams and benches cleared out in a brawl, as Artest lay on the announcer’s table to mediate and calm himself down. At that point, a beer was thrown at him and the course of his career completely changed.
Artest immediately jumped into the stands and he charged at the guy, who he believed threw the cup. Unfortunately, he got a hold of the wrong guy and saw teammate Stephen Jackson pour into the stands to help him. This led to fans coming onto the court and eating punches from Artest and Jermaine O’Neal.
Jackson was handed a 30-game suspension and O’Neal was handed 25 games for their part. There were a series of punishments for other players like Ben Wallace as well, but Artest’s 86-game penalty is the most severe for any on-court incident in NBA history.
What Would Ron Artest Do If He Got Another Chance To Relive Malice At The Palace?
Artest opened up on whether he would’ve done the same thing again while discussing the brawl, coming to a conflicted conclusion.
“I’m not gonna lie. Should I have been that upset? Yeah, I probably should have. Would I have done that again? Probably not. But I would have been that level of upset. I forgave that person even though he lost me whatever in contracts or endorsements. But I feel like humans are more important than paper.”
He paid a big price for his actions but everything ultimately worked out for Artest. He clearly has made his peace with what happened on that day and went on to win two titles alongside Kobe Bryant.
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