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How the Malice at the Palace Cost Reggie Miller a Ring | Undercover Spill

Reggie Miller was one of the greatest clutch shooters in NBA history — a loyal Pacer who never left the team. But in 2004, just when it looked like Indiana had a real shot at a championship, everything changed.

In this episode, we look at Reggie’s rise from underrated draft pick to Pacers legend, his fierce rivalries, and how the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl derailed what could’ve been his final run to a ring.

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00:00he was one of the most feared snipers ever in NBA history millions witnessed his iconic
00:13moments and brilliant performances throughout the years he was on the verge of finishing his
00:18illustrious career with the ultimate achievement in basketball unfortunately he wouldn't get the
00:25fairytale ending he truly deserved let's take a look back at the legendary Reggie Miller and find out
00:31what actually happened for years Reggie Miller lived in his older sister Cheryl's shadow she was
00:39the superstar athlete in the family growing up making big waves in women's basketball but as the
00:45phrase goes steel sharpened steel and Reggie would benefit greatly from the sibling rivalry his
00:52development on the court continued to improve and eventually he finally was able to surpass his
00:57sister's basketball skills while he didn't have the best-looking shooting form more times than not
01:04the ball often found its way through the hoop from anywhere on the floor the supreme marksman went on
01:11to rack up a number of achievements as a collegiate star including a pack 10 championship not long
01:17after his brewing success it was off to the big leagues for him Indiana Pacers select Reggie Miller of UCLA
01:27uh it's great uh rookie of the year Chuck Persons uh coach Ramsey and class organization um I would just
01:39like to come in and play hard it's like Kenny Smith and everyone else said before it's just a pleasure to
01:44be picked and and to go so I'm happy right now he quickly evolved into one of the premier stars in
01:51the league thanks to his jaw-dropping game winners and intense rivalries in the playoffs his clutch
01:57performances and showmanship when the lights were shining bright led to many iconic moments in the
02:02history books for both teams in the playoff game Miller for three and he got it Reggie Miller with a clutch tray
02:10and it's 105 102 and a steal Miller retreats to the three-point line and hits again
02:17unfortunately for Miller and many other star players in his era they all had to go through
02:24the very dominant Chicago Bulls franchise in order to claim a championship Michael Jordan at the time was
02:31simply an unstoppable force in the NBA for nearly a decade after Jordan retired from the league and
02:37his reign of dominance was over many elite players felt they finally had a legit chance at winning it
02:43all including Reggie not long after the Bulls legend retired for the first time in franchise history
02:50Miller and the Indiana Pacers would advance to the NBA finals unfortunately for Reggie he once again had
02:58to deal with two hungry generational talents dressed in purple and gold the Pacers would witness first
03:04hand the start of a new dynasty that would be hard to deal with for the foreseeable future in the league
03:10as Miller's career was winding down the window of opportunity was starting to close the Pacers front
03:22office would make a number of big moves in order to maximize the time they had left with Reggie the
03:40reshaping of the roster consisted of much more younger talent to surround the aging star they attempted to
03:47cover all the bases acquiring proficient defenders shooters and playmakers including a future superstar
03:54in Ron Artes on paper it looked like the best starting lineup in the league by far many sports
04:02commentators expressed how the Pacers were the team to beat going into the 2004-2005 season it seemed like
04:10all the stars had aligned for the man that carried the Indiana franchise for nearly two decades it often
04:17appeared that everyone in the NBA was rooting for Miller to leave on a high note especially his teammates
04:23many of which watched him growing up and claimed to idolize the marksmen in their childhood
04:28however things would take a turn for the worst shortly after the season began
04:34this is their first of four meetings in the regular season Detroit four and three overall
04:40Indiana six and two so far on this young season our starting lineups looking at the front court
04:46Ron Artes Austin Crozier and Jermaine O'Neal Tayshaun Prince Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace for the
04:52Pistons since Rasheed Wallace has joined the Pistons they have been significantly better than the Pacers
04:58it's up to this front court that provides most of the points to get it done for the Pacers in the backcourt
05:04the new Pacers Steven Jackson with Jamal Tinsley Chauncey Billups and Richard Hammond the very
05:09difficult backcourt for Detroit despite it being very early in the season it was a highly anticipated
05:15game the Pistons were the reigning champions but they were overlooked by the media and NBA fans
05:22the match-up would gauge just how good the Pacers really were and settle the discussion of their true
05:28potential like many predicted the Pacers would dominate Detroit in the game proving
05:34the hype was well deserved during the closing seconds of the Pacers blowout victory Ron Artest
05:41would foul Detroit star player Ben Wallace denying him an easy basket possibly upset about the humiliating
05:48defeat Ben proceeded to let his frustrations out referees and players attempted to break the two up but
05:55the situation got even worse once they were separated as Artest attempted to calm down by lying on the
06:02broadcasting table a fan in the audience did the unthinkable
06:07he's ejected I'm not sure he'd have to walk past the Pacers bench to go now Artest has jumped over the
06:13scores table and is trying to get down to the bench Artest is in the stands oh this is awful fans are
06:21getting involved Steven Jackson's in the fans Rasheed Wallace going into the stands
06:27and fighting fans fans going on the court fighting players it was very much one of the most bizarre
06:49events ever to take place in pro sports following the incident the NBA commissioner David Stern decided
06:57to hand out severe punishments to all the players involved most notably Ron Artest was suspended for
07:03the remainder of the season Steven Jackson was suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neill was suspended
07:10for 25 the lengthy suspensions was a huge blow to the Pacers organization but perhaps the biggest blow to Reggie
07:19championship aspirations were long gone following the brawl there was no way the Pacers could recover
07:26with key players missing a substantial amount of the season the 39 year old Miller was able to lead the team
07:34to the playoffs but the Pacers would fall short once again after the conclusion of the disappointing
07:41season for Indiana Miller time was finally over and the 18 year veteran decided it was time to retire
07:48despite being ringless Reggie is still one of the most beloved basketball stars of all time
07:54he left NBA fans with plenty of unforgettable moments on the court and he had a career that many could only dream
08:03of what are your thoughts on this story were you a Reggie Miller fan would the Pacers have won it all if
08:11the brawl didn't happen leave a comment below and let me know
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