The 2004 brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons players/fans will forever be remembered as the most infamous altercation in the history of the NBA. I remember being a 14-year-old diehard Pistons fans watching a number of Indiana Pacers players play “Rock ‘Em Sock Em Robots” with a few Pistons fans
The brawl that has always thought to be attested to alcohol and Ron Artest being Artest resulted in 146 games of suspension, over 11 million in lost salary and criminal charges for fans and players alike. Recently 14 year NBA Veteran Stephen Jackson shed new light into what led to this infamous night at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Jackson appeared on the “The Rich Eisen Show” and gave insight into the motivation that former Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley provided Artest.
“We all Ron isn’t in his right mind, he didn’t need a battery in his back to do something stupid. He did that on his own, but Jamaal Tinsley put a battery pack in his back. The dumbest thing to tell him’
Jackson follows the quote with a story detailing how Tinsley told Artest he should get Pistons Center Ben Wallace back for a hard foul in the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals in which Detroit won.
Afterward a promising Pacer team was blown up, Jackson continued his NBA career for another 10 years while moonlighting as a rapper, and Ron Artest is still in the league mostly recently with Lakers
What could have been.