Metta World Peace Reveals Why Jermaine O’Neal Was On The Verge Of Greatness
Last week, Netflix released a document about the 2004 brawl between the Detriot Pistons and the Indiana Pacers called ‘Untold: Malice At The Palace.’
This documentary was produced by NBA legend Jermaine O’Neal, according to Lakers legend Metta World Peace. But, it wasn’t for O’Neal, and he wouldn’t even be part of it, he tells Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson of Ballys Sports.
Per World Peace, if it was not for the brawl, O’Neal might have been a Hall of Famer.
“I didn’t know how it affected Jermaine [O’Neal] because I was not around him a lot. Jermaine is producing this doc. It is called ‘Untold. Jermaine is putting this together with no one else, and if it weren’t for Jermaine, this would not be happening. And it is very important because Jermaine, at one point in time, was on the verge of becoming a Hall of Famer and the brawl happened. If you think about it in that light, what does that do for him. For his brand, his opportunities because all he was doing was protecting me,” said World Peace.
“He protected me the first time in between when Ben Wallace trying to hit me. However, when I went into the stands, Jermaine didn’t run in the stands, my brother Stephen Jackson came in the stands with me, David Harrison, Fred Jones, and maybe some other people. But, when I came out of the stands, then two more people attacked me.”
After the brawl, NBA Commissioner David Stern suspended Metta World Peace 86 games (73 regular season and 13 subsequent playoff games), the longest suspension ever received in NBA history. The brawl might have cost the Pacers and their legend Reggie Miller a championship. The team was first in the eastern conference headed into that game.
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